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FANCIES FOR THE FAIR.
Daintj, Comfortable and llealihy Garments
"ext the Skin Cheese Cloth Tor Night
Dresses ITowtoWeara Corsi t rashions
for the Children.
There was nevtr a time in the history of
fashion when women devoted so much atten
tion to the make and quality of itheir most
intimate undergarments, writes the Countess
Annie de Montaign, to Tun Dispatch.
Oar grandmothers believed that the acme
of elegance had been attained when they
clothed themselves in fine hand-made linen,
with cambric ruffles edged with "Valenciennes
lace. There were fewer shams in those day,
and the cheap machine-made garments
which are made to sell were quite uukuown.
Nowadays a woman who wants to be swell
looks with supreme contempt on linen or
muslin underwear, ornamented with stiff
embroider-. In silk attire must she be
clad from top to toe, and that trimmed with
billows of lace and yards of dainty feather
stitching. To be chic, she dons undercloth
ing which is either in harmony or matches
the color ot her gown. Black silk under
garments are somewhat passe fastidious
women being unable to banish the prejudice
against black coming in contact with the
skin. It is, however, much affected by a
certain class of people who are always strain
ing after effect and aiming to do something
bizarre. It cannot be denied that the solt
dead black of the fabric, and its trimming
cf chantilly lace is striking in juxtaposition
with the flesh, imparting to it the dazzling
purity of Cararra marble. Black under
wear," however, is only pardonable en voy
age, as it necessitates fewer changes and is
extremely convenient.
The most artistic thing is to choose silk
underwear as nearly assimilating to the
pink of the flesh as practicable, thus avoid
ing all patchiness of efiect Everything
worn beneath the dress should be as com
pact as possible, the under garments fitting
the figure like a glove; this can be managed
by goring the material in such a manner
that it follows the contour of the figure and
is vet easy and comtortable.
The baby-waist chemise is one cf the
daintiest 01 garments, the ullness being so
Blight as to be in no wise detrimental even
to a figure inclined to embonpoint; the waist
is slightly full and merely provide 1 with
i.houlder straps, the bodice being trimmed
with narrow lace, or in some in
stances, a deep fall of lire; the waist
is defined by a broad Valenciennes in
serting, alternating uilu beading
through which is run baby-ribbon, and
which can be drawn uo to adjust u to the
figure; the tkirt reaches to the ankles, and
has several rows of inserting and a deep
flounce of lace. This is an exceedingly
dainty garment, and has almost the appear
ance of the short-waistcd Kccamier gown.
For people of slender means, pongee affords
an excellent substitute for silk, and the ecru
coloring is not as a rule unbecoming, soft
ened as it may be with ruffles of lace or
colored embroidery. French batiste, which
is sheer and fine, possesses the inestimable
quality of bearing the crucial test of the,
laundrv; it is even more desirable lor sum
mer wear than silk, being extremely thin,
agreeable to the touch, pleasing to the eye,
and reasonable in cost. Dotted French
nainsook is extremely popular for under
garments, entire sets being made of it. It
is usually scailoccd in the same eclor and
tied with small ribbon bows.
Mrs. Connolly, or, as she is in fact, 3Irs.
Iiiddy, is the richesr dressmaker in Xew
York, says the U'orW. She is a tail, strik
ing looking woman, with brown hair and
eyes, a commanding carriage and the
pleasantest manner possible. She was born
in Ireland, but came early to this country,
married aud entered the dressmaking busi
ness. Everything she undertook was singu
larly (successful, and from the "first she in
vested her surplus in real estate, so that now
bhcowns 11 houses in Long Branch, and in
Xfir York, three in Sixteenth street, one in
Fourty-iourth street, where she lives, and
one on Fifth avenue and Thirty-second
i-treet, where she conducts her business. Her
fortune is estimated at from 750,000 to
51.000,0'JO. Kcal estate is her hobby.
The so-called Fin de Siecle mantle is one
of the very latest Paris creations. It is a
long Henry II. cape in dullred velvet,
.streaked with black, aud edged with
bands of fur or feather trimming,
one boa end extending down the
front. It fastens iuvisiblv, and is
! fibjr'
The Fm de Sieele Mantle.
cleverly draped on the left shoulder to bide
both arms. It bas epaulettes in beaded
gimp, and deep fringe drooping from the
two square yokes. The bick of the cloak is
s'ighily gathered under the sparkling yoke,
from which depends a shower of longheaded
btrands. Its fulness is artistic.illv raised on
the left side to give more freedom to the
arm, and display a bright colored lining in
peau de soie.
The Princess of Wales is sail! to be the
youngest looking woman of her age in Eug
glnnd, and to owe the wonderful preserva
tion of her youth and beauty to her ability
to iletp at lur will, a power, which she is
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able to call ti her assistance even for a five
or ten minute interval in the rush of her
maiiT duties. She teems like a sister to her
three tall daughters, and a sister but slightly
in anvauce cf them in years.
It is a little odd how completely night
weddings have gone out of fashion. Three,
or at latest 4 o'clock.is the nearest approach
to the close of the daylight hours which is
permitted.
Very handsome and uncommon are the
long wraps and opera cloaks now shown in
London and Paris, savs Frank Leslie's. The
one illustrated is
a new design
from Paris,
which is made
fafiuc quality
of plush. An
other shape,
which would
completely en
velop the wearer
'rom head to
foot, is made of
a lovely shade
of green vicuna
cloth, with hood
and irill round
theneck.andthe
entire lining of
pale, shrimp
uiuk silk. A
smaller one is of
pink plush and
brocadein atiat
t e r n of gold
pines on a white
ground. Itis ex
quisite, and the
urice is o n 1 y
about S23. Although young people still
cline to short skirts for ball wear they are
very" general, nay, almost universal, with
thote who dance yet trains are more worn
than they were some two years back, and lor
all receptions, soirees, dinnerparties, and
functions where there is no dancing, even
th- youngest matron, or the voung lady in
her second season, dons a trained gown more
often than not. Very few ladies who have
reached middle age wear the short gown,
excepting for walking and afternoon visits.
Even the home gown has a demi-train, or,
at least, falls on the ground for three or
four inches.
Iu gowns it is difficult to predict what
will and what will not be worn, Dame
Fashion being, like most feminine things,
renowned for her fickleness. The gown
shown in the cut, writes the
Countess Montaigu to The Dispatch,
will be one of the favorite spring models
and is stylishly made upin the light weight
woolens which are so universally worn.
Silk retiring robes (this is the asthctic
term) are gotten uu in very elaborate fash
ion, so much so that a woman with a frugal
mind might be in imminent danger of re
maining awake all night in order to avoid
missing the numberless frills and furbelows
with which her nocturnal garment is
adorned. These dressy affairs frequently do
duty as morning robes, gowns of silk mere
ly feather stitched being donned at night.
The cheese-cloth night dress is the outcome
of the asthetic craze, and is really a most
delightful and artistic garment. It can be
made at a very slight expense and in any
desirable color. A leader ot the latest
school of aesthetes saystbat she merely takes
several straight breadths ot material, sews
them together and shapes the shoulders
slightly; from shoulder to waist she leaves
a slit, into which the sleeves, which consist
merely of the width of the cloth are sewn,
and they are gathered into a band at the
wrist; the fullness front and back is held
into a straight neck band, and the garment
is deeply hemmed at the foot; it hangs in
long picturesque folds, which suggest the
plastic lines in the drapery of a Grecian
statue. There is another delightful thing
about these gowns, they do not require the
services of a skilled laundress, and need
only to be washed, but not ironed; when
nearly dry they are run through the bands
again and again, until they almost loofas
if they had been accordion pleated; lace is
severely abjured, as that would be too fin de
Siecle "and imt according to the canons of
antique art. It is a comfort to know that
one can carrv the Greek goddess idea even
to bed, and "in case of a fire a Pal! is or
Psyche flying from the flames in plastic rai
ment would be much more poetic than a
ghostly figure flitting about in a stiffly
starched Mother Hubbard with a Gladstone
collar and unartis'ic cuffs.
Silver shoe buckles in dainty, small size
and in large, square, pompadourstyle. range
from S2 0 to 515 a pair in jewelry shops.
They recall that unhappy Qneen ot Eng
land whoss miseily lord made her wear tin
$3
lipp
3 ill!
ljtt
buckles and conform in all ways in her
dress to the same rigid economy.
Corsets, which in the time of our grand
mothers were ungainly affairs, made of some
coarse, heavy material, with steel as stiff as
knife blades, are now extremely elegant
affairs, almost too lovely to be concealed by
the tailor-made waist, which is not nearly
as ornamental. The corset, iu spite of the
reform waist and hygienic boddice, holds its
own, its popularity being evidenced by the
superior fit and quality of the material from
which it is made. Some magnificent ones
are made of superb damassc silk strewn with
gold or silver flowers, but the favorite
material is rich satin, either iu
black or paler tints to match the underwear.
A charming example is a corset made of
heavy black satin, lined with heliotrope
faille and stitched with silk of the same
color; around the top of the bust is an em
broidered vine of heliotrope, and between
the lining and the outside is a layer of deli
cately scented sachet powder, the scent per
taining to the same flcwer. Few women
really know how to put on a corset. Once
fastened it should be pulled down so as to
bring the waist line iuto position. Then it
should be laced, not too tightly, but quite
firmly, the strings being secured so that they
will not slip; it should be laced so as to sus
tain the bust without in the least compress
ing it. A well-made corset should be like a
well-made shoe, and should fit every portion
of the figure without presiug it iu any par
ticular spot
A great novelty in the way of a head
covering for a small boy gives him almost
the appearance of a diminutive man-at-arms
of the fifteenth century; it is really identical
with a military visor, and oi gold anu scar
let brocade iu a dWpered pattern. It is ad;
justed closely to the head, neck and cars,
leaving onlythe face risible; it is lined
with quilted silk and is altogether a warm
and very sensible head covering for wiuter
wear.
When all architects are women all houses
will have plenty of closets.
The fashion of dressing children who can
scarcely toddle iu cumbersome long-skirted
gowns is even more to be deprecated than
that of the trailing skirts so much in vogue
among women who will be swell at the ex
pense of both comfort and cleanliness. The
most noticeable incongruity is in the gown
ing of the very small children, the older
ones wearing the most abbreviated petti
coats, which are both sensible aud becoming.
After the child bas attained beyond the 5th
year her costume seems to be almost a repro
duction in miniature of that of her mamma.
For an out-of-door wrap she dons a paletot,
which completely covers her dress, in either
golden brown," tan blue or dark red
cloth or camel's-hair; some of them
are turned back with revers of 'fur or
have a braiding or an applique pattern
down the front. The reefer with its brass
buttons and trimmings of gold braid is the
jauntiest thing worn br the half-grown girl;
the favorite color seem to he the sailor blue,
relieved sometimes by a gay scarlet collar
and wide cuffs. The jackets are made of
cloth, camel's hair or cheviot, and the hand
somer ones arc lined with plaided or striped
satin or a plain color. A charming gown,
brought from abroad by a youthful heiress,
is of Edison blue camel's hair; the waist is
round, low-cut and shirred in curved lines
on the shoulders, leaving a standing ruhls
as finish at the top of each sleeve; below
this is a puffed sleeve with a pointed cuff of
velvet; a guimpe of white India silk fully
shirred and witii a pompadour ruff at the
neck appears beneath the decollete bodice.
Fashion threatens us with a decided re
turn to the costumes worn at the end of
the seventeenth century aud the be
ginning of the eighteenth, including pow
der, patches and three-cornered plumed
bats.
One of the most artistic
promenade costume Htely
aud effective
seen on the
streets of
Philadelphia
says the
Press, was ac
companied by
a long plush
paletot with
cord embroid
e r y. The
bonnet was of
plain felt,
w i t h
the
rough
waved
bound
velvet,
velvet
edge
and
with
and a
bow
and
aigrette.
Itis
now set
tled that long
cloaks have
decidedly won
the battle
over the stout
opposition
that was
shown to them
at the begin
ning of the
season. They
are made ot
various kinds.
There is first
the indispen
sable morning
clout, very
simply made
of some sub
stautial wool
en. For those
who preier a
ong wrap for making ceremonious calls,
there are rich wraps of figured velvet or
plusb, with superb passemenieries, or of ar
mure silk, haudsomely embroideried. Be
tween these two extremes are long cloaks of
cloth, made much like a dress, with tight
fitting corsage, high collar, large sleeves
with deep cuffs, and a basque belt of passe
menterie; these are worn for informal visits
to one's friends between 2 and o'clock, and
for similar occ siuns-
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THE PECTSBUKG DISPATCH,
GAIETIES OF LENT.
Clubs of Washington That Mate the
Season l'ass Pleasantly.
SOME LITERARY AND OTHER FADS.
How a Dancing Class Got Kid of Members
Who Were Obnoxious.
A LADY tfHO PLAIED POKEU TOO WELL
ICOURESPOSDENCE OP TUP DISPATCH.
Washington, Feb. 14. Lent began
this week and on Ash Wednesday Washing
ton society inflated its lungs with the air ot
sackcloth and ashes. During the day
society fasted, but on Thursday the plans
were laid for a series of mild entertainments
and the prospect is that the Lenten season
will be even fuller of social gatherings than
usual. There will be quiet little breakfasts
and luncheons, mixed with the church-goings
and prayers, and the scanty meals of
the day will be made up by big dinners at
night. There will be 5 o'clock teas and
there will be a big ball in the center of the
season. The theaters are always well pat
ronized during Lent and the thousand and
one societies which have been organized in
Washington will hold their little enter
tainments and the clubs will flourish in all
their glory.
Washington is peculiarly a city of classes.
There is nothing in the heavens above or in
the earth beneath or in the waters under the
earth that is not represented by a club at
Washington. These clubs are literary,
social, gastronomic, terpsichorean, athletic,
sewing and of every other imaginable char
acter. They are really clubs but they are
called classes, and they are a feature of
Washington society which yo.u do not find
elsewhere.
Fair Ladles Who Dance.
The dancing class organized a year since
and which during the present season has
been holding lortnightly dances, is perhaps
the best entitled to prominence, although it
is in reality the one of the whole list which
resolves itself into nothingness during Lent.
The articles of incorporation having been
duly drawn up, it was found at the first
dance given last season by the class that
several undesirable elements had somehow
crept in despite all efforts to make the
organization most tremendously exclusive
in its character. To eliminate these detri
mentals without being aggressiely rude
was the problem which the swell members
propounded among themselves, finally
hitting upon a happy solution of the diffi
culty. The rule being that the class should meet
each week in turn at the house of a different
member, the proposition of several of the
detrimentals to be among the early enter
taineis was quickly accepted. When the
evenings arrived the nnsuspectin? hostesses
at the very last moment were over
whelmed with an avalanche of dainty notes,
in which the writers deplored their inability
to attend the meeting of the class on that
especial evening. By a preconcerted ar
rangement, the male members down on the
list of swells failed to put in appearance,
aud the mortifying consciousness that they
were being treated to
A Genuine Freeze-Out
was gradually borne in upon the conscious
ness of the unfortunate female who had as
pired to identify herself with those who con
sidered themselves the elite of society. On
one occasio'n where an elaborate supper had
been prepared for 300 guests, there was
hardly a score present to partake of the
lavish hospitality.
The chanerones selected were in the ma
jority of cases those who had ball rooms at
tached to their residences in which they
could entertain the dancing class. Among
the number were Mrs. Senator Hearst, Mrs.
William A. Hammond, Mrs. John Mc
Lean, Mrs. Howard Ganson White, Mrs.
Dahlgren and La.dy Pauncefote, while the
member's included Miss Shcrrill, the Misses
Pauncefote, the Misses Ernst, Miss Everett,
Wiss Dahlgren, Miss Edij, Miss Bancroft,
Miss Wanamaker, the Misses Myer. Miss
May Williams, Miss Mitchell, Miss Cox,
Mrs. Eichardson Glover, Mrs. McKee and
Mrs. Itussell Harrison. At the beginning
of the present season it was decided after
much discussion to abandon the plan of
having the class entertained by the various
chnperones, and accordingly the National
Itifles' Hall was engaged for the alternate
Tuesdays throughout the season.
Howling and Heading Classes.
The Bowling Class is another fashionable
organization of which the membership is
almost identical with the Dancing Class.
The meetings are held once a week, Satur
day afternoons having the preference at the
fine bowling, alley attached to Heurich's
brewery. Tea is served on these occasions
and such ot the members as do not care to
take part in the game converse with friends
and deport themselves generally as they
would at an invited reception, the chaper
ones present constituting an informal re
ceiving party.
The Beading class first organized soni:
half-dozen years since, is in reality the
most exclusive of all the Lenten classes, in
asmuch as the membership has never been
allowed to extend beyond the dozen well
knowa society women who composed it at
the start. Among these were Mrs. N. S.
Lincoln, Mrs. Washington McLean, Mrs.
Hazen, Mrs. JohnTtodgers, Mrs. Edward
McCauley, fr. Seth Ackley, Mrs. John
Cropper andMrs. Lothrop Bradley. Meet
ing every Tliursday during Lent, the morn
ing hours are spent in the reading aloud by
a member of one or more chapters of the
latest book attracting public attention here
or abroad, after which its relative literary
merits are discussed at length over a
luncheon fit lor the most exacting gour
mand. Why not because it is Lent one
need not go hungry, neither is it wise to
spoil digestion with ill-cooked food. There
is a sage old maxim as worthy of acceptance
now as when first, uttered, that "In Lent it
is more wholesome to the soul to starve
one's sin and not her bin."
A More l'rctcntiou Class.
Another class of more ambitious literary
character was that orgauized last season by
Mrs. Madeline Vinton Dahlgren, winch
held fortnightly meetings Wednesday even
ings during Lent. On these occasions the
programme generally included a reading by
the hostess of her own work or extracts irom
those of well-known authors, after which the
lion of the evening was introduced in the
person ot one of the popular writers o the
day, who favored the company with the re
cital of an article especially prepared for
the occasion. The late lustorian, Baucrott,
was among the number selected ior that pur
pose, the stipulatiou,in each case being that
the person chosen for this honor should have
published at least one book.
The French Class was another popular as
semblage of last season, and one of the few
which held its meetings in the evening. Ae
may be imagined, it was largely composed
o'f the foreign element of Washington
society represented by the diplomatic
corps, and membership outside of that
august body was limited to such of
the younger members of Washington society
as conversed fluently in the French language
as spoken iu Paris. Miss Batcheller,
daughter of the present Minister to Portugal,
was a promineut member. Among the
most memorable entertainments given the
French class was that of Countes; Sponueck,
wife ol the Danish Minister.
Tile Spanish class held its meetings in the
morning and unlike the French class was
wholly lacking iu the male element, though
composed of no less a charming set of
women, among whom were Madame Iiomero,
Mrs. Don Cameron, Mrs. Senator Cockrell,
Mrs. Ex-Minister Foster, Miss Ida Thomp
son and a large contingent of the Spanish
speaking South Americans.
Feasts for'Twenty-FIve Cents.
A breakfast class of 12, with the limita
tion at each feast fixed at $3, thus making it
imperative on the hostess to provide a course
hreakfast at 25 eeutu per capita, was one ot
the short-lived experimental organizations ot
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 15.
last season which will hardly be revived
this Lent. Another similar organization
known as the breakfast clnb with the limita
tion of 56 for expenditure on each occasion
was likewise ill-fated. Born in merriest
laughter, it was doomed to expire in much
gnashing of teeth iu -which envy, hatred,
malice and all manner of uncharitableness
had part. The initial breakfasts were voted
great successes, and then the little rift within
the lute was formed by the accusation from
one of the organizers that things were not
being conducted on that scale of strict
honesty and economy which had character
ized her feasts.
These accusations taking definite forms,
were to the effect that the various butchers,
bakers and candlestick makers patronized'
by certain hostesses had, upon close ques
tioning, admitted the fact that although the
choice cuts of meat and hothouse vegetables
furnishedbythemhad really been sold at the
absurdly small price indicated on the bill
of fare, the circulation cf which among the
guests at the close of the meal was one of
the ironclad rules of the class, matters had
been equalized on the private bills subse
quently rendered.
Impromptu Surgical AVork.
The emergency class was organized to in
struct the members by lectures on the
speediest and most efficacious remedies to
be employed in the case of sudden bruises,
burns or broken limbs where the immediate
attendance of a physician is not practicable.
Mrs. Harrison, Mrs. Morton, Madame Ro
mero, Mrs. Senator McMillan and Mrs.
John W. Foster were among the large num
ber of interested listeners who gathered
once a week to listen to the extemporaneous
lectares of the young physician selected for
this purpose. At these meetings the ladies
were questioned in regard to the subject
previously discussed and such of them as
cared to do to, assisted the physician in the
adjustment of bandages, supports and straps
for keeping the broken linibsl in proper
position until the services of a doctor could
be secured.
For this purpose it was customary to en
gage as model some ragged urchin, to whom
the money paid for his services in this re
spect seemed a small fortune. Accounts of
these meetings having gotten into the pa
pers, the young physician found himself De
sieged in all quarters from people living in
remote country districts to have his talks to
the emergency class embodied in pamphlet
form in order that the practical application
of his suggestions might be available to
those who stood in actual need of just such
lectures.
Euchre and Poker Flaying.
The euchre class leads in the list of card
parties incident to Lent. The meetings are
held Monday evenings, and the membership
includes Dr. and Mrs. William A. Ham
iznond, Dr. and Mrs. Alexander Magruder,
Mr. and Mrs. William Thompson Harris,
Mrs. Philip Phillips, Mrs. and Miss
Phenix and Lieutenant and Mrs. William
Hill.
A poker crass, which has resolved itself
into a state of innocuonsdesuetude, attained,
during the period of its existence, such no
toriety that even now the audacity of the
leading lady is mentioned with bated breath
at the Metropolitan and Meridien clubs,
several of the members of which have reason
to remember the alluring little meetings.
The woman, whose name formerly appeared
in every list of prominent society, was a
born financier, her transfers of stocks and
bonds finally reaching such figures as bid
fair at an earl' date to rival the Wizard of
Wall street. One night, however, a young
lamb was shorn so close that his pitiful
blcatiugs over the loss of his fortune re
sounded through the walls of the club
house, and the lady was waited upon by
several indignant elders. So convincing
were the arguments that the charming little
house iu the West End was closed the same
day, and, shaking the dust of the city from
her feet,, the lady bade an abrupt farewell to
the nation's capital.
The Belles of tho Kitchen.
Matrimonially considered, the cooking
class gotten up some half-dozen years since
by a party of pretty young girls, who
dubbed themselves "Belles of the Kitchen,"
was the most successful of the many classes
begun, continued or ended in Lent. These
queens of gastronomy acquitted themselves
so well of their self-imposed task, that be
fore fie close of the second season every
member had married or become engaged.
No restrictions were made as to the amount
or number of dishes served at the luncheons
given by the "Belles of the Kitchen." One
all important stipulation however, was that
each aud every dish should be personally
prepared by the hostess of the day.
As each guest was given the privilege of
inviting some raau of her acquaintance to
the luncheons, the parties gradually
narrowed down to the same guests each
time. That the men so selected fully
appreciated the .honor shown them, is evi
dent from the fact already recorded, that in
less than two seasons the clatter of deftly
wielded soup ladles had changed to the
tuneful chime ot wedding bells.
Miss Geitndt, Jb.
SHINING IN WASHINGTON.
Allegheny Belles "Who Attract Attention in
the Charmed Circle.
Two attractive young ladies who have lent
their charms to Washington society this
winter, says the Philadelphia Times, are the
Misses McCuUough, of Allegheny City, Pa.
They are with their mother, Mrs. Commis
sioner Boss, at the National Hotel. Their
father, who died a number of years ago,
was a wealthy Pittsburg gentleman.
who had an extended acquaintance in Phila
phia, as well as other parts of the State.
Miss Marv, the elder, was born at Pittsburg.
She attended school at Mt. D'Chantle, W.
Va., whereshe was graduated. MissAnnie's
beauty is of the blonde tvpe. She has gyiy
eyes, and a compUxion that is almost trans
parent. Miss Mary has a soft, blue eye and
a very fair complexion. The young ladies
have visiting them the Misses Stella and
Maggie McGonigle.
Miss Annie McCuUough.
of Leavenworth, Kan., and this quartet of
charming young girls arc enjoying them
selyes as only young girls can in the society
of the National Capital. These young
ladies were among" the receiving party at
the tea givn at the National Hotel recent;
ly and werevmuch admired. '
wit
Miss Ma-y JlcCullough.
-w m .
1891.
SILK NEXT THE SKIN.
The Waste Product That Makes Ideal
Sanitary Underwear.
WORN 'BY CAKMENAKD ATHLETES
But Good for Fine Ladies, Especially in
Pittsburg's Climate.
A SU0KT TALK ABOUT EODGE FACES
'WKITTES FOB THE DISrATCU.:
The freckle season recedes far in the dis
tance as last summer's flirtations, but the
comedonc season is on in its fulness. Boys
and girls with- rough complexions always
find thea worse toward the close of winter,
with rich pies aud puddings, fat meats and
sausage to account for it together. Add to
these causes the solitary weekly bath, and
the underflannels worn from Sunday morn
ing round without pulling oft, and you can
see how the skin takes a coating of its secre
tions, a glaze of wax and sweat irhich ren
ders the skin vessels torpid.
The face, which gets washed twice a day,
serves as an outlet for the humors of the six
square feet of cuticle belonging to the body.
Is it any wonder that the cells are enlarged
and distended with matter seeking to es
cape? Dust settles in these oily cells and re
mains, or they become centers of inflamma
tion, swelling and pimples. Hardly any
thing is more hideously mortifying to a nice
girl than one of those black specked faces,
conveying the ideaof personal uncleanliness
not always deserved.
Complexions Sometimes Inherited.
But complexions are not always the result
of individual neglect, but tell of the trans
gressions of ancestors three and four genera
tions back. Not bad people, only unwhole
some ones old grandmothers who shut
themselves up in rooms that never were
aired save at house cleaning, and astringed
their insides with strong tea and salt fish,
and rather prided themselves that their
bodily functions never were active like
those of common people; grandfathers who
never took baths all winter, regarding tnem
as therapeutic measures only to be resorted
to in case of fever or something of the kind,
and did not believe in changing underwear
too often for fear of catching cold.
It takes strong nerves to read he accounts
in medical books of the old practice. You
come across old ladies and gentlemen in
New England now who live after the same
fashion and crawl out sunny winter days
clad in brocade and astonishing old velvets
and laces, but one must be careful to get the
windward side of them. No wonder they
carried pomander boxes and cloves and
scented snuff in the old time when many
such bodies of decay were abroad. Blood
of such descent is pretty apt to show itself
for 100 years in bad complexions or tuber
culous diseases, ace- it is a great comfort to
know that it is brtc; in than out, after the
old saying.
Curing; tho Comedone Faces.
The chemist, who has studied medicine
further than many doctor?, had something
to say the other day about comedone faces.
It sesms he has more inquiries for remedies
for this disfigurement than any other, and
thev are mainly from women who have
swallowed quarts of medicine in hopes to
cure it.
"Tell them," he said, his mind running
on the subject, "to quit taking such loads of
blood purifiers. The blood may not be out
of order, but only needing a chance to work
offits daily impurities the natural way, and
blood purifiers make the matter worse. Their
diet ought to be right and tend to free
elimination, plenty of hot drinks to cause
perspiration, coarse bread, soup rich with
vegetable juices, but no pic crust, cake or
pudding nor sauces with starch or flour in
them till the state of things which causes a
rough face is broken up. It won't be easily
done. Doctors sayfewdisordersaresoslowto
cure as this sluggish state of the skin, main
ly because people cannot be persuaded to
give proper pains and attention to them
selves. They won't bathe, or if they do the
water isn't hot and alkaline, and the rubt
bing afterward is not enough to stir up the
whole system as it ought to be of the least
use.
The Nerves and Blackheads.
"Do you notice that excitable people never
have pimply faces or blackheads in the
skin? It is your dull, depressed, sluggish
natures who suffer wjth them. A quick set
of nerves is good as an electric battery to
keep the body in working order, if only it
isn't overcharged and torn to wreck. That
is why people with spinal diseases seldom
sufler'with other ailments, for the acute
nerves throw everything off. What force
there is in the system is at the fingers ends '
and on the surface of the skin, .not congested
or half dead at the roots.
"What these girls with bad faces want to
do is to use clean, pure soap freely in hot
baths and pay more attention to the rest of
their skin than to their laces. bolt soap
and alcohol beaten together and laid on the
face nightly five Or six rninutej and washed
off with hot water hot, mind you; just as
near scalding as you can bear it dried, and
a coating of powdered para French chalk or
Fuller's earth laid ou is a very good prac
tice. The soap softens the skin and the ac
cumulations, which can be pressed out
easily. Tell them never to force out black
heads unless they are ripe to come easily.
The soft soap must be pure or it is horrid
stuff to put on the skin. Oh" (with a groan),
"it is such hard work making people, even
ladies, understand what purity is in any
thing, soaps, lotions or creams. Clean fats
and clear potash are necessary and clean
keeping after."
About That Waste Silk.
To the several hundred inquiries about
waste silk it may be said the fabric orig
inated about five years ago as the invention
of an Americanized Englishman iu Provi
dence, B- I. Jt is not raw silk, which is the
thread as reeled (rum the cocoon, but
"combings" taken from the "boiled ofl"
silk, as it is cleansed to remove the rather
strong gum in which the caterpillar silk
worm mummifies himself and which does
not smell at all pleasant.
It always makes anyone smile to hear silk
raisin advised as a refined business for
women. Some people may like it, but I had
as soon take care of a barn as keep a silk
worm stable, and the final performance of
standing all day over a boiler of very dirty
scalding water washing the cocoons does not
at all fit into the picture of an industry lor
ladies. ;
There is a distinct and interesting differ
ence between the fibers of wool, silk and
cotton labrics, aud it is worth studying. As
the silkworm makes its fiber it is a soft
mucous, and the fluid is secreted from the
nose, as it were, in two streams which com
bine' at once in an infinitesimal double
thread.
Silk Is Symmetrical and Solid.
"Silk," says the expert whose interesting
letter I quote, "is perfectly smooth, sym
metrical and solid, not hollow like cotton
and lineu fibers, and without the branchlets
the latter have upon them. Wool has sealeR
or hooks, and is spiral, also, which is the
FnSnfuTuTeo
any cha"" e in picture you wish, not interfering with the likeness. Refer to any bank
PA.CIFZC rOliTUA-XT
reason it shrinks. It creeps together more
and more, condensed and stiff."
The shrinkage of flannel is not wholly to
be laid to washerwomen's ignorance it is
the nature of the stuff to shrink and felt to
gether. Perspiration mats and stiffens it,
and so does every sort of dampness. Silk is
a great absorbent, because it3 fibers are so
glassy fine a spidery catgnt, one may say
and fluids, water or oil creep between the
fibers and are held, yet will passontquickly.
eyaporating and drying, or will wash out
readily.
"Itis litce glass," says the manufacturer;
"nothing clings to it. For this reason it is
necessarily hygienic and salutary. In its
natnral color silk accumulates no germs of
disease, and moths and buffalo bugs (find no
home.init.
The Sponge Silk Fabric.
"We take the short combings of silk," the
maker goes on to say, "and snin them into a
soft yarn, like old-fashioned homespun or
softest zephyr wool. We get the body of silk
at low cost, and get all the benefits of it, in
fact more than in the same weight of long
silk, which would necessarily be so dense as
to admit less ventilation. A shirt the weight
of ours made of long silk thread would cost
perhaps 525."
Itis called sponge silk, because it is really
a very soft and spongy fabric, capable of the
greatest absorption of any known fabric.
One great use of the cheaper grades is for
wiping the oil from-machinery'In the huge
factories of New England and Old Eng
land. One of the hemmed machine cloths,
13 inches square, will take up nearly a quart
of oil, manufacturers say, and mark how
closelv these great concerns study that econ
omy which vour Bridget and Bridget's mis
tress too often both disdain. These cloths
are not flung away like the waste cotton
formerly used, but" are pressed, the oil cbl
lected and cleansed, and the cloths washed
by the hundred cleaner than our dusters, I
am afraid. The great advantage ot these
silk wipers is that they never generate fire
when wet with oil, whereas the oil-soaked
cottou has caused many fires.
Advantages for Underwear.
This sponge silk fabric is the best sanitary
underwear made. Anyone who wears silk
next the skin knows the difference from wool
in its power of holding damp. Wool grows
sodden and chills the body dangerously. I
cannot say how often I have heard active
persons complain of getting chilled after ex
ercise in warm woo) underwear. Silk seems
to keep the skin comfortable and one does
not take cold in it that I know from ex
perience, having omitted my usual winter
cough by wearing silk.
After throwing off thick, fine wool under
wear for a suit of sponge silk you look
round to see it you have shed your body,
you feel so light. You also acquire a con
tempt of weather, for you have an inner
coating very like the short feathers next the
skin which keeps birds so deliciously warm.
I write this for one thing, as some corre
spondents have expressed thentselves wo fully
disappointed because the new fabric was not
pretty. Did I not explicitly say it was not
pretty, to avoid any mistake on the point?
But these people rushed to the conclusion
that they were going to find a glossy, high
colored fabric for 25 and 30 cent3 a yard.
Silk give- so it never shrinks, never can
shrink, and the traveling man who wrote
that he intended to use it because the hotel
laundries shrank his wool undershirts so he
could not wear them was entirely level
headed. Silk shirts don't shrink; they
stretch by washing so that they have to be
made small purposely to begin. This elas
ticity makes them very easy to get in and
out of after being once washed. At first
there. is a crispincss to the fabric, owing to
its gummy nature, which softens wheu it is
warm on the skin and wholly disappears
after washing once.
Don't Send to the I-aandries.
But you don't want to put such fabric
through laundries, for scalding and boiling
will ruin it. The sponge silk and all silk
should be washed in lukewarm wa'cr, with
mild soap, and rinsed in clear lukewarm
water the same temperature. It does not
need the scalding which wool and cotton re
quire to get the sweat out, as old washer
women say, for.it doe not hold it as they
do. Consequently it hps not the rabid scent
which common clothing will acquire in
warm weather when traveling without
baths. It is not pretty, true, but it has all
the other good qualities, and every time itis
washed it improves, ta'king"tbe clean, whity
look of nice crash, a wholesome look that
wears vastly better than your cream and
pink and blue silk fripperv.
"Will it do for babies' wear?" anxiously
asks a mother, imagining, no doubt, some
glorified material. Well, yes, it is soft
enough washed twice before it is put on, but
it is not so fine a fabric as we expect for
babies' legettes. With the film of cambric,
which good doctors say is the only thine
that should ever touch a baby's skin, and
barrow coats of the sponge silk, baby is de
lightfully warm and healthfully so. For
children that can run about it is the best
possible wear, as it keep3 them free from
colds without overheating and burdening
them like wool. Doctors protest angrily
against swathing children in such quanti
ties of flannel as some mothers find neces
sary, and these over-dressed children are the
very ones to take cronp and diphtheria or
get eczemas.
IIow to Mnke It Up.
Of the wider sponge silk 16 inches wide
it takes three yards or less to make a man's
undershirt and two yards for drawers, which,
by the way, should be faced broadly with
white washing silk to wear well. Pray
don't allow any more than these measure or
you may repeat the experience of the liberal
sort of women who cut her silk skirts as she
would flannel, to havo them returned after
washing with the remark from her husband
that he didn't wear his day shirts down to
his knees. By all means get the material
and have it made for fullest satisfaction.
Sponge silk is a fortunate discovery lor the
health of American people. It is the equal
izer we need for the changes of temperature,
the embodiment oi light, comfortable,hcalth
ful clothing. If it were a German
discovery wc should have it sold by a stock
company at fabulous prices with doctor's
certificates galore iu all the newspapers.
At present it is worn by two classes of
people in Boston, the car drivers and the
gentlemen athletes, and either of them are
bound to know what is bdst in clothing.
The drivers wear it because it keeps them
warm in their exposured duty, and a Boston
street car driver iu hfs Japanese wollskin
coat and silk flannels is a very comfortable
looking being, ditlerent enough from the
pinched creature one sees in his place in
other towns. SHIRLEY Dake.
She Isn't a Countess.
The newspapers generally in announcing
the birth ot a child to the young Philadel
phia lady who married the Count Pappen
heiiu lost April have fallen into the error of
calling her 'the Countess." It ought to be
pretty well known by this time that she has
no right to the title. It was not learned
until after the marriage that she could not
attain to the rank of her husband, aud the
fact aroused a great deal of indignation
among Miss Wheeler's friends, but the de
cree of royalty went all the same. She has
received "some recognition from the Bava
rian nobility, to be sure, but this was small
satisfaction when they refused to accord her
a title.
Do You Coach?
Take Kemp's Balsam, the best cough cure.
Sample bottles tree of druggists. Large bot
tles 50c, SL
IFOIR, 20 IDA-"XS
From date of. this papar. Wishing to introduce our
rBAvnw PORTRAITS
Juuan. sj.,va.ju trj. aj"-
STJKJ3
XEIS-1-J0- THIS
TO ANCIENT CDZGO.
A Male Eidc to the Birthplace of
By-Gone Civilization!
THE NECESSITIES OF THE TRIP
South American Butter an Odd Compound
Packed in Bladders.
ST0KI OF A MIGHT! CHAIK OF GOLD
rCORRESrOSDISCE op the dispatcb-i
Akeqdipji, Peeit, Jan. 10. It would be
a pity for the sojourner in this part of Pern
to miss seeing Cuzco, the ancient capital of
the Incas, though the journey thereto is ex
ceedingly wearisome and rarely undertaken
by travelers "of the feminine persuasion."
Indeed, I doubt if any Anglo-Saxon females
but ourselves have ever visited the place
unless perhaps .Mrs. Agassiz may have dons
so when she assisted her husband so bravely
in his South American researches.
There are no hotels along the route, and
one must depend upon private hospitality,
which is freely accorded to those who briny
letters of recommendation. In providing the
outfit for this journey, one should not forget
that to offdr money in payment for food and
lodging outside of a public house would be
resented as an insult by these hospitable
people; and, therefore, one must go stocked
with gifts in order to get even with one's en
tertainers. Bottles ol wine are always ac
ceptable, also butter, tea, canned goods and
other similar luxuries which are rare in the
interior.
Eggs are cheap and plenty, but though
there are cows ou all the wayside farms, milk
is unobtainable. In any case, enough bread
to last the entire trip should be taken from
Arequipa, because, though hard and dry as
the surrounding rocks, itis infinitely prefer
able to the black, unleavened lumps of
dough in use among the country people.
Tinned beef, ham, fish and fruit ?.e indis
pensable, with condensed milk an? boxes of
English biscuits, or "crackers," a3 Ameri
cans call them.
Butter of the Sooth Xands.
What little butter is to be found in this
region i3 odd enough to deserve a para
graph. If one is not a sufficiently good
traveler to forego butter entirely he must
pay almost its weight in silver for a pale,
lardy sort of lubricator, wrapped up in
bladders, in square packages weighing;
about two pounds each. Being thus her
metically sealed, it will "keep" indefinitely
if the air is not let in; bnt when ones
opened, it proceeds to become nasty with
marvelous rapidity, and in a day's time will
fill the air with an odor beside which Lini
burger cheese is as attar of roses.
One should leave Santa Rosa by the first
glimmer of dawn, for there are at least 24
miles of indescribably bad roads to be trav
ersed on horse or mule back, and La Itaya
to cross the highest ridge in all the jour
ney, where winds are strongest and storms
are incessant. This first day is by far the
hardest of the entire trip, as much because
one is not yet used to it, as because the road
is incomparably worse; and at all hazards
one must reach Agnas Calientes beforn
nightfall. To the right of a lofty, snow-clad
mountain named Vilacanota one follows for
some miles, and finally fords a small water-
l course which seems to rise inoneofthehot.
springs so numerous in the locality, and
which Peruvians regard as the mother
spring of the great Amazonas river system.
The second night out one is booked to
sleep at the village of Licuain, a ride of
only 18 miles, through charming scenery.
There is a possible drawback, however, iu
the Licnam river which must be forded sev
eral times and is likely to be rather high.
The Dansers of tlie Way.
There is a road on the left of it. but travel
ers are warned to take to the water instead,
for there are vast swamps on that side, with
quicksands treacherous enough to ingulf an
army; and besides one must pass through the
unfenced hacienda of AutJcncca, which is
celebrated far and wide for its wild cattle.
Nobody goes over that dangerous road if he
can avoid it, there being no place of refuge
should he be attacked by the torro3. Fancy a
party of "United States tourists, including
two women, riding peaceably along on mule
back, when a herd of wild bulls come charg
ing lull tilt upon them, and not a wall or
tree or bush to hide behind! In the vicinity
of the hot springs (AgnbS Calientes), there
are acres of plump mushrooms, and uo pass-er-bv
whose palate has been properly edu
cated, will fail to secure a supply for hi3
evening meal.
The third night one sleeps at '"Tinta" a
hacienda owned by an educated Italian,
Senor Don Francisco Masciotto, who is sure
to give the pilgrim a hearty welcome. The
road thereto lies through an ancient Indian
village called Itaccha, built within the
cratcrof an extinct volcano. Among other
curiosities, it contains a remarkable wall,
which is Said to be the remains ot the palace
built by an Indian prince, eldest son of Tupac
"Vupangui. who revolted against paternal rale
and hero maintained his independence. 2Tear
it is one of the many small round towers so fre
quently found in this part of Peru, which are
believed to have been astronomical observa
tories wherein the Incas determined the
meridian passage of the sun.
A Famous Onlden Chain.
On tho fourth dav one may take a leisnrely
jaunt of only 15 miles, to Chccacope. n hers he
will be made to feel quite at home by Colonel
Martin Alvarez, who. is a regular king in his
lttlo world a largo landed proprietor, a mem
her ot Congress and a wealthy wool mercnant
Tlicro are jctIO miles to Cnzco. and a rapid
rider could accamiilfc-h that distance in ono
day. We went out of the way a tew miles to
view the little lake called Urcos, famous in Pe
uvian tradition for b.:ing the burial place ot
that great gold chain c f ihe Inca llaascar. We
read that the celebrated chain was long enough
to encircle tho grand Plaza Jlayor of Cnzco,
and that every link or it was as heavy as a
strong man conld carrv all of pure gold. Of
course the itciy Is nonsense; nevertheless we
spurred our beasts to the perilous brink and
faithfully trieil to believe that we saw gold
shining through the dark water". No securer
hiding place lor heavy treasure could be lound
because the lako ha3 a bottom of unfathom
able ooz-. which sposdily swallows anytbinc
thrown into it, and affords no footing for
diver?.
Twelve miles beyend is Zncre hacienda,
where the traveler, is advised to stop over
nighr. This vury tine estate, a mile or two
from tho village ot Oropssa. belongs to the
Uarmendia family and includes cloth manu
factory. Only 12 miles beyond Oropesa is Cuzco,
in the midst of a tropical valley. Alter leaving
the highlands the weather grows warm and
warmer: paroquets and monkeys, palm and lis
trees are been; and one sultry afternoon (mid
winter at home), we came cantering into the
stony streets ot the old, old city that had seen
several centuries before the United Stateiwas
born. Fannie B. Wakd.
Photographic Timer.
The photo-engr.iver has long felt the want
of a means of automatically taking care of
the exposures of the photographic appar
atus, especially in a gallery containing sev
eral cameras. An invention has now been
brought into requisition which automati
cally opens and shuts the lens tubes of the
camera and gives such a length of exposura
to the plates as is determined by the setting
of a movable contact piece upon the peri
phery of a clock dial at a number corre
sponding to the number of seconds required
lor the exposure.
m New York. Address aato ,
, - -
no4 63-Eosa