The Topeka state journal. [volume], April 20, 1901, LAST EDITION, EDITORIAL SECTION, Image 10

About The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980

Image provided by: Kansas State Historical Society; Topeka, KS

                
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SOCIETY
FASHION
AME the only place where a
woman Is entirely happy
without a. man at her el
bow." It was Aunt So
phronia who propounded
this conundrum.
' I answered promptly and
"Heaven,'
unhesitatingly.
We are by no means given to under
stand that the population above ia en
tirely feminine," retorted my aunt se
verely. "If I thought so, I wouldn't try
to go there. Guess again, my dear."
I pave up.
Fie!" she said. "The answer Is very
easy the shopping district."
We were walking down Twenty-third
etret, and the masses of pushing and
Jostling- womankind no doubt gave her
this inspiration.
"They have to make a virtue of ne
cessity." I returned. "You couldn't hire
a man to come into these limits. They
avoid 'shop town" as if it were pest
Btricken."
My aunt laughed. "They don't dare
to trust - themselves here." she said.
"Big Tom Bender confided to me that
he thought it was more dangerous for a
fellow than the gaming tables at Monte
Carlo. He ought to know, for many's
the time that Maisie has dragged him
In this direction under pretense of a
little walk a walk from which he has
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WATTEATJ HAT OF PALE BLUE TAFFETA -AND SOSES.
Invariably returned with his pocketbook
as fiat as a rancake."
Just at this moment a particularly
gaudy creation caught my aunt's eye,
mi 1 she sidled up close to the store win
dow. At her right a woman was In ec
stasy over a pink crepe de chine waist.
"Ain't that beautiful.'" we heard her
grasp. There was such an emphasis on
the "ain't" that I couldn't reproduce
the effect in print unless I used letters
three inches high. Aunt Sophronia
turned and surveyed her through her
lorgnette. "That's the third time I
have heard that remark this morning,"
she whispered
to me. "and
from well dress
ed women too.
It only goes to
prove my theo
ry." "That when
women epeak
from the heart
they use bad
grammar?" I
suggested.
"Nonsense!
she snapped.
"That the shop
ping district is
the best place
to study o wo
man's charac
More Uant?iyi;s than Moru
Carlo.
ter. When a
woman stands in front of a store win
dow, she forgets all grammar, polite
ness, her little airs and graces and even
her personal appearance. If you want
to discover whether Mrs. Doubtful was
really born to the purple or whether her
drawl and long 'a' are a product of the
last few years, just follow her into the
shopping district. You'll soon find out."
I made some observation, but Aunt
Sophronia did not answer. She was
biting her lips, and there was a twinkle
In the corner of her eye. "You believe
that a woman's husband should give
her a certain yearly sum for dress,
don't you. Pussy?" she asked.
"Of course." I answered. "Every de
cent woman nowadays gets an allow
ance.", "So did I before I was married and
the first year after, too, but not after
that," she chuckled.
I stared at her in amazement. "But
you were always beautifully dressed!"
I exclaimed.
" "That's it," she said. "I have to dress
beautifully or I am not happy. Do you
euppose I can buy a $200 gown when I
eee that It is entirely put in the shade j
Una iW creation which, hangs along- '
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side? Naturally, I buy the J300 gown
lest some one else should purchase it
and eclipse me. That's what I did when
I wa3 first married. Then my allow
ance would give out, and I would go to
Jack for more, which he wouldn't give
me. l ou see,
I could explain
about the two
frowns until I
was tired. He
had not seen
them together,
and. of course,
he could not
know how it
was. Thm I
adopted entire
ly different tac
tics. I cried
one evening aft
er dinner not
enough to be un
becoming, but
Must enough to
be effective. I
Dash across the street. said that I
knew my taste was crude and that he
was so artistic and so fond of rich
things that I knew I could never suit
him. I ended by sobbing out that I
didn't want to choose my gowns any
more; my clever Jack must do it for
me. You have no idea how flattered ha
III
was! The next morning he took me to
Mine. Valerie s on the avenue, and
when she showed him the modest gowns
my allowance warranted he simply
wouldn't look at them, he was so anx
ious to show what fine taste he had.
He selected a dozen gowns fit for a
rrincess. and when the bill came it
was something tremendous he paid it
without a murmur."
"Then why, in the name of all that's
good, did you divorce him?" I exclaim
ed, aghast at the willful waste of such
generosity.
Aunt Sophronia put on her little
grieved expression. "He went crazy
over one color old rose," she murmur
ed gently, "and, as you know, that
shade is very unbecoming to me. I stood
it as long as I could. I used rouge to
such an extent that my skin was a
'ISS IVIE ROSE and Miss Girty
Down were chums. At the end
of "every week they unbosomed
themselves each to the other con
cerning the events of the past seven
days.
Said Girty Down to Ivie Rose:
"Last Monday noon I went into
Browne Hash's restaurant for lunch
eon. I sat down and was just going
to order a cup of tea and a lady finger
I thought I could make it do; then I
could save some money to go on to
that ravishing black chiffon hat I
want when in comes little Skewkey
Tubbs and sits down opposite me. I
says good morning, and he says,
What are you going to eat?" I
says, 'I don't know; you may order."
He says. 'But I can't tell what you
want.' Then I knew he was going to
pay, so I went in and ordered a good
one while I was at it. I says: 'Then
we'll have broiled spring chicken and
lobster salad and English lamb chops
and strawberries and some of those
imported hothouse grapes, and we'll
top off 'with French candied fruits
and Ice cream and genuine Mocha
coffee. That'll be a plain, simple lit
tle luncheon, won't it?" Y-e-e-s,' says
Skewkey kind of sleklike, ,but we had
It all the same. I gave him an- hour
sight. Then I took to wearing veils.
The climax came one morning when he
bought me a dress, a hat and an opera
cloak all of the same deadly color.
When I left the shop, I drove to my
lawyer."
These affecting memories so disturbed
my aunt that she dabbed her eyes with
a ridiculously small lace handkerchief.
But just as she turned upon me a most
becoming look of utter sadness her
practiced eye caught sight of a friend
entering a shop opposite. The friend
was gorgeously
attired, and my
aunt, after a
hasty glance,
gathered up her
ruffles and
made a wholly
undignified dash
across the
street. She
dodged two
hansoms and a
cable car, and
by the time I
reached the op
posite sidewalk
she was no
where to be
seen. I follow
ed Into the Effect in everting gown.
shop, and after half an hour's search I
found her deep in conversation with a
saleswoman, while on the chair in
front of them lay an evening dress.
"Just as I suspected, it was that last
year's foulard of hers fixed over," my
aunt whispered to me all in one breath.
Then she turned to the saleswoman,
with a mournful shake of her head.
"No, I can't alford it," she sighed
"that is, I don't think I can. Still, I
suppose it wouldn't be much trouble to
try it on. and then if it proves unbe
coming I shan't feel so bad."
The saleswoman took in Aunt So
phronia's handsome face and figure,
snd I suppose she made up her mind
that it was a safe risk. So we ad
journed to the fitting room, and the
dress was slipped on. It was a Parisian
model and was very striking. At a dis
tance it looked as if Aunt Sophronia had
been locked behind iron bars, but this
was only the effect of the black velvet
ribbon latticework. Of course, you are
aware how much that ungraceful effect
is being used in Paris. The foundation
was of corn colored mousseline de soie,
and from the knees down there was a
wide accordion plaited flounce finished
with a full ruching. From the decolle
tage to the knees the gown was In one
piece, forming that three-quarter prin
cess effect which it takes a woman of
my aunt's height to wear. This prin
cess part of the dress was covered with
a latticework of half inch black velvet
ribbon, and at each intersection of the
ribbon there was a tiny rhinestone but
ton. The arms showed prettily through
WOMAN'S ODD LITTLE
BY TAEITHA SOTJRGSAPES.
of my society and conversation to pay
him for it."
"Skewkey Tubbs!" exclaimed Ivie
In accents of fine disdain. "Poor lit
tle runt! His back hair looks like a
rat's nest, and he never has any fold
in the knees of his pants, and he
puckers his face into the most horri
ble wrinkles and works his jaws
when she uses his knife and fork or
clips anything with the scissors in
the office perfect scarecrow! Still
he's good enough to pay for a lunch
eon." "Yes," answered Girty. "And, Ivie,
of course he had to pay my car fare
going home. One morning coming
down town this week I met Mr. Don
aldson just as I was getting on the
car, and he paid my fare for me. An
other morning I met that stingy Sam
Holden, and, he had to pay for me,
too, though I saw he didn't like It a
bit. But what's a nickel anyhow to a
man? Ivie, I've counted up, and I'm
in a luncheon and three car fares this
week."
"Yes," replied Ivie, "but I've done
better than that. Last Tuesday I
stood looking in at Bump's confec
tionery window. I was just longing
for a box of those Italian cream choc
olates, but I wouldn't buy them my
self. I just mind cured on them ten
a. latticework of the ribbons which
reached to the elbow and finished with
a big rosette. Altogether It was a very
daring effect and therefore one calcu
lated to please my aunt.
From the moment that she smiled at
herself in the mirror I knew she would
buy the gown. But she did half an
hour's talking, and during that time I
watched my opportunity and slipped
away. You see, I was late for an en
gagement to take afternoon tea at
Sherry's and meet well, never mind
who some one liked by '
New York. V
A SOCIAL ORDER OF THE GARTER.
King Edward's bestowal of the order
of the Garter upon Queen Alexandra,
making her the only woman thus hon
ored, has drawn attention to the fact
that a clique of women in English high
society has appropriated the name of
the order to themselves. The social or
der of the Garter is one of the smartest
secret societies existing in smart Bel
gravian society today. ' .
Only unmarried women can become
members, but those of them who mar
ry may remain members. There are a
president, a secretary and a recorder,
who has the custody of a beautiful
book, bound in the antique style in red
vellum with brass. On its white pages
it is her duty to write such .doings of
the members as seem worthy of record.
At least three peeresses and eight
daughters of peers, arp enrolled, and,
though it is difficult 6. estimate the
number of members, the names on the
book certainly exceed 50.
The insignia is a gold garter repre
senting a serpent -biting its own tall.
But this garter is occasionally worn a-a
a bracelet, for it is flexible, be'ing made
of hammered .gajd .which.-can be con
tracted till it can be worn on the wrist.
"When so worn, iH Is sign that the
member wishes to communicate with
other members, and consequently a girl
at a large party will be led to address
another she does mjt know because of
this sign of their freemasonry. No
member receives a,list'of fellow-menu
bers, so she only knows those who are
personal friends. . , ;
There is no subscription and no gen-'
eral meeting. The objects are to in
duce women to help one another in so
ciety and to keen; air eye on the doings
of men in their own set. The social or
der of the Garter has been in existence
at least five years; and the secretary
has a great deal of correspondence Ad
mission is by invitation of the presi
dent after nomination by three mem
bers, and the -only cost fo the novice la
the price of the garter. An oath Is
sworn, but what It pledges members to
has not so far become known.
GIRLHOOD'S FRIENDSHIPS.
A friend a real, true, good friend
who shares one's joys and sorrows,
bears with one's good or. evil humor,
loves one despite one's faults and, per
haps, even the better for them who
has not dreamed of such a friend? But
how few there be that find them!
This would seem particularly the case
with women in contradistinction to
men and in an aggravated degree
among girls.
A girl's friendship for another would
seem, as a rule, to be of a btttterfly or
der of things they fly into friendship
with outspread wings and encircling
arms, with kisses, with "dearest" and
"darling" interspersing their conver
sation and daily letters of many pages
long helping to break the weary post
man's back. And then comes "the lit
tle rift within the lute which by and
by shall make the music mute," and
the friendship, ripe before its time, dies
a sudden death, not even repelled by
the two who erstwhile so enjoyed it.
Therefore it behooves a girl before
making a friend to pause and consider
for some short time at least before be
coming "absolutely devoted" to her and
to think twice before she tells the girl
she met yesterday in the house where
she is staying all her inmost secrets.
To say the least, the habit Is unwise
and, like all playing with matters
great and good, will perhaps prevent
her- knowing a real friend when she
does come across one.
A woman's real friends, whether they
be men or women, are, as a rule, made
later than girlhood. Happy is the wo
man who possesses such a treasure as a
true friend. Knowing and understand
ing the value of what she has found,
she will never strain at the tie if she be
wise: she will never be jealous or ex
acting, but, trusting ever, will be for
ever true.
tSE OF LACE BRAIDS.
Old black lace braids are being re
vived, but these must also be used with
discretion. They are smart on boleros,
for which amazon cloths, vicunas and
fine crepons will all be pressed Into
service.
WAYS,
minutes there where I stood, and by
and by along comes old Nicken, and
he says, 'How do you do?" 'I'm well,'
I says. 'But ain't they beautiful Ital
ian cream chocolates in there? I'm
Just longing for a box of them."
'Well,' old Nicken says, 'let's have
some." So he bought them for me, but
the mean old thing ate nearly half of !
them himself, after all. I got even
with him, though, for I says to him,
'Have you seen that new play, "The
Athletic Orphan," yet?' He says: 'No,
I haven't. Have you?" I says, 'No, I
haven't, and I'm crazy to go, but I've
not anybody to take me, and a girl
can't go by herself." 'Well, he says,
I s'pose I'll have to take you," and
he couldn't get out of it. And after
theater was over, of course It was only
common manners for him to ask me to
go and have Ice cream and coffee. So
I've beat you, Girty, this week. I'm
In a box of chocolates, a theater tick
et and cream and two car fares."
"Yes." murmured Girty, "you are.
That limpy old Nicken! He's like an
exhibition of antiques, with his bald
head, his old claws of hands and his
silk hat that he's worn for the last
five years ever since his wife's funer
al! Still he's good enough to pay out
his money for girls, and that's what
men are for. All the girls know It."
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LACE APPLiaUED
OMEN
AS STOCK
BUYERS
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ANY women speculate In
stocks in a quiet way. Most
of them openly declare they j
do it In the hope of bettering
' their fortunes. Others who
seem to be Independently
wealthy say they do it to give excite
ment to a life that has lost its zest, and
they do not care not they whether
they win or lose. It is to be observed,
however, that those dames who gamble
in stocks for the fun of the thing are
about the glummest of all when they
lose In ten minutes several thousand
dollars. -
Not far from the social center of a
certain great city a man known as one
of the most Influential and reliable
bankers and brokers in the States has
an office, said to be opened originally
for the accommodation of lady cus
tomers. But the other half was also
admitted to its privileges, and now, as
usual where the sexes are associated in
any enterprise, men mostly monopolize
the proceedings. Still there drop in
and out quietly and whisper their orders
to buv or sell enough women to give the
j shop an air feminine. The clerk who
telegraphs orders from this up town
place to the main office is also a woman
a young woman with the nose of a
Napoleon of finance. The Influential
banker and broker from his headquar
ters inside the aura of the great cen
tral Stock Exchange sometimes tele
phones to his lady customers his opin
ion on the prospects of given stocks,
which the business manager announces
to the ladies like this:
"Mr. Marginstock thinks Crossbones
common will drop." Then the ladies
nudge one another and whisper audi
bly: "Don't you belJeve a word of It. Mr.
Marginstock's always wrong in his
guesses."
Not knowing, you would Imagine
these women stock speculators to be of
those who smoke cigarettes and wear
powder and peroxide hair and are up to
date in slang. Well, you were never
more mistaken. Many of them are
middle aged or elderly women dressed
In black, of staid appearance and man
ners like those at a woman's club busi
ness meeting when the members are not
on dress parade or like officers of a la
dles' missionary society. Fully half of
them wear mourning expressing various
grades of grief. One handsome specu
lator of 50 is draped in a pall of black.
A lady whispers to a friend:
"That , woman has lost her husband
and all her children. She says she does
not care for anything any more. She
has loads of money and comes here to
speculate and keep herself from think
ing." "She's lucky to have loads of mon
ey," replied the friend. "She ought to
be thankful enough for that to keep
her from fretting. She would be If
she'd over had to work for her living."
A mild eyed, refined looking, grand
motherly woman of 70 quietly watches
the readings clicked off by the ticker.
"That one," whispers the lady who
knows, "has lost 121,000 in stocks, and
she's trying to get it back again."
"Great ghostie! Think of having
$21,000 to lose!" exclaimed the one whis
pered to.
A very pretty woman with gray hair
and eyes that now and then blaze with an
electric blue steps close to the girl teleg
rapher with the nose of a Napoleon of
finance and gives an order.
"That one," continues the whisperer,
"Is very reticent. She sits looking down
with her hand over her eyes, as though
she were drawing on some Inner source
of knowledge. Then presently she goes
and buys or sells, and she is generally
successful."
The woman of mystery had the air of
a financial climber, one whose social
position was or had been first class,
but who had not money to back It and
was trying on the quiet to put herself
in funds through speculation in stocks.
A newcomer, tall, in deep mourning, en
tered. "That one Is very wealthy," con
tinued the whisperer. "She came in last
fall with a young brother, one of the
smart Alec kind who thought he knew it
ail. 'You buy on a margin," he, told her.
She said. 'I don't know what margin
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are, but I'd like to try some," as If It
had been a new kind of cream choco
lates. Well, she tried some and lost
I ,vw m less man no time. ow sne is
coming in to get it back again. That's
what we all do. When women go Into
stock buying, they nearly always listen
at first to what some man tells them
and lose all the money they put In.
You are safe to lose 1 you take a man's
advice. Never do it. Men think they
know so much about stocks, and they
don't know any more than you do your
self. Now it begins to warm up a lit
tle. It gets crazy in here sometimes."
It did warm up. A big board, the size
and shape of a Sunday school black
board, was covered with squares and
figures. Down a line at the left was a
row of mysterious letters and syllables
Nyp, Mop. Uss, Nat, Lpf, etc. If that
board is unearthed in the days of the
ooming race, when people draw their
sustenance from the air and wear
thought clothes, will the professors of
learning of that day pronounce it a
tablet inscribed in honor of the great
est king known to the barbaric twen
tieth century? They would not be far
out of the way, for it is a tribute to
King Money. As sales grew lively two
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FSENCH SPRING DUESS FOR A CHILD.
young men worked as fast a their fin
gers could fly changing figures upon th
board, and the click clack of the blocks
sounded like, the rattling of di9 In a
box. It was- a game of chance the cus
tomers., played a . game in. which -th
stakes were won and lost by the thou
sand dollars.
A pleasant acquaintance springs up
among the women who follow stocks.
Day after day, year after year some
times, they meet and are drawn togeth
er by the mutual interest of margin
and short, of bull pool and bear pool
and running to cover. Much of human
sympathy is evolved. They are glad
w"hen one of them makes a strike; they
are sorry in a very I told you so way
when one loses. Yet, though they meet
thus friendly and familiar, they al
most never know one another's names.
It would not be etiquette to inquire.
Etiquette requires that a stockroom ac
quaintance end with the stockroom." If
two ladles who saw each other every
day at the broker's office should by
chance be introduced outside, the
would meet as strangers.
The noisiest person In the room was,
naturally, a man. He wore a silk hat
and read off the quotations rapidly
from the ticker. If his particular
stocks were going down, he went away
and waited awhile. If they went up,
here is what one of the lady buyer!
says he does:
"He talks as hard as he can ani
sputters all over everything and just
howls."
Man or woman, after you once get
Into the stock business you cannot let it
go. It will not let you go. Men and
women both become so wrought up In
the game that they cannot sleep at
night. The excitement and fascination
are Indescribable. Speculators must
watch the market like hawks when the
season is active. They must go every
day. An absence of 15 minutes at a
critical point may mean tha loss of
thousands.
But I wonder the women do not tak
their knitting work to steady their
nerves while they wait. They cannot
smoke. MARILLA WEAVER.
A NEW SHAPE I! TllLE.
A great many people are tired of tha
pancake hat 'so much In vogue. Among
these are short women, who look at
their worst
when crowned
by this flatten-,
ing headgear. It
Is rather unusu
al to see tulle
made up in
high shape,
here Is a French
ich 4l"f
J
model wh
breaks away
from establish- Wt '
ed traditions. In Cj- - ,)
snape it some-
1 what resembles
walking hat.
though the brim
rolls out a trifle
more. The frame
is covered with
soft folds of
pale blue tulle.
Around the
crown is folded a scarflike effect of the
same material to give height. The
trimming is very simple, consisting of
three sprays of violet foliage and a
large tea rose.
TiO WOXOER SHE OBJECTED.
She Do you remember the first quar
rel you had with your wife?
He Distinctly.
"What was it about?"
"Oh, about a kiss."
"Pshaw!"
"Yea."
"But doesn't she like kissing?
"Oh, yes."
"Why, then, did she object?"
"I was kissing another woman."
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