The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, September 21, 1902, Page 10

THE SUNDAY CALL. Simple QoUrse oF Cymnastic Training {0 Remedy Defects of Qlumsiness S THERE a little girl in your family? Then take her and practice with her the exercises which will make ple and ligl of foot. You from her and she from Grace is a quality which cannot be fully know that a woman is res only a glance. To Te- at she is awkward can be told ooking at her. ple who carry about with here of grace. They move u lightly; they do aring to do them a note of subtie you characterize as notice this in so small a mat- ndling of a book. Look how one woman will manage the rning them in so dainty a way that you look and look again, just for the very delight of watching her. An- the book against her ly, and when she eem as though t of muscle for her to do A certain te had studied her of grace, a man who r a pupib of the great Delsarte, vised a woman who wanted to go on the stage to first study herself before a looking glass. The wo: wishing to be graceful, in- quired how and to what extent this could possibly be of benefit to her. See Yourself as Others See You. “Take your breakfast tray,” directed the instructor, “and place it in front of your cheval glass, about six feet away, and you will understand my meaning. The next merning thé woman did as \@irected. She ordered her maid to place ithe meal upon a small table, and there, Iwhsre she ceuld see herself, the woman ate her breakfast. Later she said to her instructor: *“I hed no idea how hideously ungraceful I had become. When I seated myself it was es though I had doubled up like a jack- knife, and the manner in which I handled my elbows was awful. When I @rank I noticed that I craned my neck forward like an ugly duckling, and that my manner with & fork was simply hideous.” The instructor put her through a course of gymnastic training, with the result that he very socn had her able to rise and to be seated, to stand, to walk, to @ac ber ows and her neck as though all were parts of a pretty creation, rather than vehicles of awkwardness. There may be women who cannot have large oval eyes; and there may be women who cannot be as tall as the ideal Juno; there are undoubtedly those whose mouth is not at exactly the right propartion to the face; and there #re women whose ears do rot look like sea shells. To remedy such defects as these cer- tainly does take time. And it may be. that they cannot be entirely overcome, even after a long course of beauty train- ing. The woman who wants, and lacks, oval eyes, must learn how to make them look a little larger, and she must get the trick of brightening them. The Woman who is too short must lose weight and gain in straightness so that she will look tailer. The girl with the big mouth must learn to bow that member so that it will look a great deal smaller and of a prettier shape; and the woman whose ears pro- trude will have to wear an ear cap and to tint her ears pink by natural methods. Time and patience and endless thought are all the price of these things. And not only must one expend time, patience and thought but one must keep on expending them. The story of Penelope is not an idle one for the woman of to-day. Penelope did her work over and over ggain patiently day after day. And the woman seeking for beauty and awalting its coming must be contented to do her work over and over again The potent and attractive charm of grace is something that does not require the forethought that must be devoted to the changing of feature. It is much easler to learn how to turn your head gracefully than to learn how to change the shape of the nose upon your face. Botk can be done, but the trick of grace is so quickly learned that it is a wonder that any woman should neglect to get if. Have you ever seen a perfectly grace- ful person? They say thaf Bernhardt is a French type of perfect grace, and that Mrs. Leslie Carter exemplifies the Amer- L e e ] ) Suceessful apd Brilliant cessful match-maker among royal ladies was the late Queen Louise of Denmark. No mother ever made more brilliant matches for her own daughters than did the consort of the aged King of Denmark, and, it must be added, no mother ever had three more charming daughters for whom to find husbands. As everybody knows, the flower of the family, Princess Alexandra, is now Queen of the British realms; her sister, Prin- cess Dagmar, was united to the late Bm- peror Alexander III of Russia, and an- other sister, Princess Thyra, found a hus- band in the Duke of Cumberland. But the late Queen of Denmark did not confine her match-making to members ot her own family, for she loved nothing better than to scheme to bring together any young couple whom she considered suited to each other. In these matters her sound common sense, great experi- ence and singularly keen perception of character proved of the utmost service. Indeed, it i8 common knowledge in the Danish capital that many of the happiest and most successful marriages in the country — not - only among the higher classes—were brought about by the tact- ful Queen Louise. The present Queen of Portugal’'s mar- riage was brought about by the pretty scheming of her mother, the late Countess de Paris, and Mme. de la Ferronayes, pERHAPS the most brilllant and suc- ‘When the Crown Prince, as the King then was, refused to marry an Austrian Princess the Comtesse determined to bring about a union between him and her daughter, Princess Amelie, To this end she sent to her accomplice at Lisbon, who was often visited by the Crown Prince, a large framed portrait of the beautiful Princess, which was placed in a conspicuous position in the drawing- room, where it would be certain to at- tract the attention of the royal visitor. It had not been there long befors he wanted to know whose portrait it was, and, needless to say, his hostess gladly enlightened him. In due course she had the satisfaction of seeing the artful match-making scheme of the Comtesse become an accomplished fact. When the shrewd Empress Catharine of Russla undertook the delicate task of se- lecting a wife for her son Paul from among several German Prince: she proceeded on somewhat original lines. On the occasion of a trip of them paying her @ visit she carefully observed their gen- eral deportment and the manner in which they alighted from their traveling coach. The eldest of the three Princesses was careless and slipped, the youngest showed such a lack of dignity as to bounce out of the carriage without making use of the steps, while the last to alight alone stepped gracefully to the ground. The Empress at once decided that only TRE LITILE GIRL WHo WANTS T0 PLAY ;.(g F CAN STRENG ARMS .THU 3 ican ideal, Langtry is bewitching just from this very charm. Though the mother of a married daughter, no one ‘would think of calling her old. Maude Adams is very wonderfully en- dcwed with a graceful, almost swaying body, and Annie Rissell is another stage ‘woman who is noted for her grace. Marie Corelli, that Venetlan type of blue-eyed" beauty, leads all London captive when she will condescend to go into the lit- erary society of that town, and Amelia Rives is delightfully bewitching with her peculiar hands and the way she poises Ler throat. The woman who will learn how to tilt her chin without craning it forward; the 8irl who will Yearn to walk with the bust thrown out: the woman who can step along the pavement without wagging her body, and the lady who can enter a drawing-room and depart from it without annoying her friends with her angles, these are the ones who will take the beauty medals every time. No woman is ever too old to learn to be graceful. It is a something which is as attainable for grandma as for grand- daughter. The woman of seventy took up the bicycle and rode it with her grandchildren, showing all the grace of mount that could be desired: and the Wwoman of seventy can to-day learn how to_be as graceful as the girl of seven. Perhaps it must be admitted that there is a grace, a sprinkling quality. of youth, in the girl of seven which is not in the woman of seventy. ‘But there are those ‘who dispute this. They say that childheod has its awkward moments, and that age can be graceful every minute of the twenty-four hours. Be this as it may, It is certain that the woman who wants to be graceful can practice her beauty exercises with the girl of five or six with good results. The little maid who begins to be graceful at a very early age and who understands that she must continue to practice her exercise8 if she would be a pretty woman later on will certainly grow up a model of grace and a marvel of beauty. L e B Ak B 3 0 e e o B S S AR N L] Mateh-Makers of Rc}yalty the last mentloned Princess was eligible tor her son's hand and heart and in due course of time she became his wife, for no other reason than that she knew how to bear herself with grace and dignity. In regard to the late Queen Victorla it may be mentioned that no royal lady had a hand in bringing about her marriage to the very amiable and popular Prince Consort, who predeceased her by more than thirty-nine years. That was one of the happiest achievements of King Leo- rold T of Belgium, who must have been 2 matchmaker of no mean abilities, con- sidering the number of other eligible sul- tors who were aspirants for Her Majes- ty’s hand. Respecting the late Queen herself she was known to be an ardent: matchmaker and did not confine her operations in this character exclusively to royal circles. A very amusing story is told of the way in which she.found a wife for the rather ec- centric Lord Palmerston, who can scarce- 1y e described as a ladies’ man. Phe then Premier, Lord Melbourne, was ' & widower, and Lord Palmerston, occupy- ing the post of Foreign Minister, difficul- ties seemed in store regarding the recep- tion of the wives of the various Embassa- dors. This prompted her Majesty to ask Lord Palmerston why he refrained from taking to himself a wife, and the For- eign Minister pleaded that he did not know any one who would have him. Queen Victoria replied that there neea be no difficulty about that and calmly undertook to produce a lady who was ready and willing to become his wife. His Lordship could do nothing under the circumstances but acquiesce, and Lady Cowper was accordingly brought from Rome to become Lady Palmerston. Her husband would have been the first to acknowledge that never was there a happier match, and it was also a good ex- ample of the late Queen's flne judgment. In the years when the present German Emperor was a somewhat impetuous young Prince it was desired by his mother that he should marry and settle down. Accordingly an album full of portraits of royal Princesses who were open to en- gagement was put in his way and every effort made to induce him to indicate his cholce. Indeed, it was sald that the Prince was not allowed a moment’s peace, and in a fit of desperation one day he dashed into his mother's boudoir and thus delivered himself: “Look here, mother, for heaven's sake select ot of that album any woman you consider fit to be your future daughter-in-law and I'll marry straight off, for with all the eternal nagging I have had for the past three months I am almost insane.” : The Empress Frederick was surprised as well as pleased and the present Em- press was suggested there and then. Patience and ThouGht Will Bring Perfection 0 /1l Who Desire 1% One of the lovellest and most gracefd girls of New York society, one who is as well known in San Francisco as in Gotham and better known in London than in either, is famous as an athlets. Like Miss Helen Gould, she owns a proprietary right in a ladies’ gymnastum, and every day when she is In town she jumps into her bloomers and blouse and gets to work practicing with the dumb-bells. Miss Gould a Gymnast. For Miss Helen Gould to lean forward until she touches the tips of her fingers to the ground without bending her knees 1s no feat. And Miss Gould, without one pretty feature except her lovely dark eyes, is ac- counted quite a beauty just because she is so very graceful. It is a pleasure te walk with her, and a double pleasure te merely sit and look at her. Mrs. George Gould, who . was ' Edith Kingdon, was noted for her grace, and each winter as she sits high in her tox at the Metropoli- tan Opera-house she is a sight for the opera-goers, a rare poetic treat, a sym- phony in movement and In polse. Her half-dozen little ones are given dally les~ sons In grace. Take the nicest little girl of your ac- quaintance and get her to practice with you every day. Buy for her a palr of very large wooden dumb-bells, hollow and light, and get for yourself a smaller pair, but of metal. The weight of the bells is something ‘which each individual must determine for himself or herself. What is easy for one woman to lift is impossible for another. That which one man can do without ef- fort is beyond a second. People’s muscles are constituted the same, perhaps, but they do not work out in the same man- ner as the method of life influences all. If you are a woman who has handled nothing heavier than a crochet hook then you will find a pair of light dumb-bells best. But If you are used to swinging the golf club then you can swing a heavy pair of bells without feeling the fatigue of it. Do not judge your own strength that of -your neighbor. You may- be larger than she, yet not half so strong; you may be smaller, yet not half so wiry. Be a law unto your own self. Study your pe- cullarities and arrive at grace. ‘The-little maid who practices with you will give you many a pointer. It is she ‘who will suggest the poses of youth; she who will show you what it is to be lithe; she who will give you an idea as to what extent the humam body can be trained along muscular lines. And what is the reward? Why nothing less and nothing more than that of a beautiful carriage. You will learn to turn your body; to swing your head; to man- age you hands and feet, and to use your elbows so that you will be called gracetul, and more than this no woman, unless she be a great professional beauty, will desire.