Daily press. [volume], November 20, 1898, Image 1

About Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current

Image provided by: Library of Virginia; Richmond, VA

                
PAGES
5 TO 8
VOL. Ill, 1NO. 277.
Ellen ?sborrVs
Fashion Letter
New York.?It's odd. if von think of
it, that December should be tlie bud's
month?that the death of the old year
should herald the beginning-of the new
life of the young girl.
Hut so it lias been for generations of
buds and blossoms. From the first of
December to the first of January the
older women step back, postpone their
entertainments and hold themselves in
readiness to welcome the buds, that
find in the chill of early winter the at?
mosphere to coax their flowering.
The old-fashioned crush with its
crowds of people trampling each other
under foot as they tried to dance in a
room not a quarter big enough, and
with ten times too many poor flowers
wilting, and a big band of music, and
fifty or a hundred carriages tangled up
outside?that blare of trumpets gave
place to the simple debutante's tea. as
the tea in its turn is now giving place
to the more formal reception or mu
sicale. ^
Whether or not a bride is always
beautiful at her wedding, a bud is al?
ways pretty at her coming out. stand?
ing beside her mother and her mother's
friends, wearing her white dress, hold?
ing her roses or chrysanthemums and
surrounded by her court of other buds
?young girls whose debut has preceded
hers by not more than a week, maybe.
They arc shy girls who all summer
have dreaded the ordeal and to whom
not a pyramid of bouquets could be
compensation, and then' are girls al?
most too composed; prepared to enter
society not with the tentative step and
slow advance of one who feels an un?
accustomed way, but by a single eonfi
tunic overdress edged also with quill?
ing. A bertha of white chiffon, blue
spotted, is drawn about the shoulders
and ties ou the bust in a spreading
bow.
Some of the debutantes' evening
dresses are ail white chiffon puffed and
tied up with white ribbons. One such,
very youthful in effect and dainty has
the bodice, which blouses slightly.
I tiffed bayadere-wise from the waist
to the decolletuge, while a graceful
bertha arrangement is drawn -11)0111
the shoulders. Another slightly more
elaborate but still girlish is of n soft
white Liberty Mitin with a narrow ruflle
r.t the hem and tlnee bands of chenille
embroidery passing riblionlike around
the skirt and finishing in front with
true lovers' knots and ends. The low
bodice blouses somewhat and- the V
shaped front is filled with lnca and
chenille.
One of the earliest debuts will be that
of a girl who bus the burden on her
shoulders for keeping up certain fam?
ily traditions, her mother and grnnd
mother having both been famous
belles. Following- the modern idea
which makes white cloth and white
satin appropriate for grandmothers,
while sweet 16 may appear quaintly
di eked in black velvet and jewels, the
coming out dress, now in the modiste's
hands, will be of '-bite lace, but of lace
so softened by draping over mousseline
de soie as to lose its aggressive air of
too great richness. The design of I In
costume is of the utmost simplicity
round waist, belt finish and round de?
collete neck, witli a touch or two id
Pink velvet for color.
dent and intuitive leap; but alike to
brave and to timid the coming out is a
"looking over by the pack"?an assort?
ment of the belles who will reign as
beauties and as favorites and of the
'^^lice little things who aren't counted.
As a looking over, it is prepared for
with circumspection.
The toilettes of many debutantes arc
chosen abroad with as much care as a
bride's trousseau, siucc the French give
more thought than other people to the
arraying of the young girl. This au?
tumn, however, a larger proportion
than usual are being made in New
York, patriotism being fashionable.
For an evening occasion whit* is a)
most invariably chosen and for an afler
tioon some Jig-lit color. The after?
noon is preferred by many people as
- offering the quieter, less ostentatious
?way of introducing a new little girl to
her mother's circle. Some of the
wealthy girls in New York have been
presented on their coming out to less
than 50 of the family intimates?two
or three to receive with the mother, two
or three to look after the tea?only a
couple of servants showing. The more
public appearances have come later
with appropriate gorgeousness. Some
girls have been brought out at Newport
in the summer or early autumn to es?
cape a city function.
At an autumn tea a few weeks ago
in a country colony the young girl
?who was honored wore pale yellow taf
fivta that set off admirably her brilliant
brunette coloring and made her sparkle
like topaz in the dim old parlors. Fold;
of white chiffon wore drawn across the
bust and back, shirred chiffon filled in
the gimp neck antl transparent chif?
fon made the long sleeves. The belt
antl rosette were of white velvet; n the
middle of the rosette was a topaz set in
gold. The skirt was trimmed only witli
very narrow silk and chiffon ruffles.
By way of contrast to the yellow tones
n handful of deep red roses was car
tied.
But nearly all the coming out dTesses
are yet in preparation. One that looks
as If it might be meant for some such
dainty use is of white taffeta embroid?
ered with blue chenille moons. The
skirt has an odd quilling of blue rib
FALL WRAPS.
A dress whose first appearance will
be made at a Thanksgiving gathering
which is to mark informally the com?
ing out of a pretty Brooklyn-girl is of
white silk, with a deep flounce of white
chiffon partly covering the skirt. The
chiffon flounce itself is finished with
three or four chiffon ruches, full, nar?
row and half hidden by a lace flounce
caught to the same heading. The
bodice is of lace and chiffon over silk,
with a'band of chenille-embroidered
silk at the neck.
The girl for whose debut a dance is
given chooses for it the most diaphan?
ous of robes. For the younger set this
winter the favored ball dresses will be
of tissue over tissue; ull white or deli?
cate colors peeping out through mists
of other colors. One such costume just
imported has a skirt of white silk, and
over this one of gauzy net twinkling
with silver sequins, and over this a
gauze so airy as to be nothing more
thnn cobweb. The low bodice with its
short sleeves combines the same ma?
terials.
"Nowadays girls come out so much
older than they used." said a woman
who is looking forward to the blossom
ing of her own bud. a girl of 19 or
thereabouts. "I came out at 15. and mv
sister was quite a grown-up young lady
at 14; but then that was in New Or?
leans. In these times girls stay in the
schoolroom till they're 20. And it's o
good scheme if they're to marry so
much older."
This lady's daughter is no older at
19 than some girls of the old regime
must have been at 15. and she will look
very young and very much of a begin
ner in the somewhat quaint dress that
has been planned for her of white
cloth with gimp neck of white chif?
fon and lattice work of white chenille
covering the bodice. The skirt is to
have a flounce of white accordion
plaited chiffon of a moderate width in
front, but rounding up to the waist be?
hind, and edged about with chenille
The sleeves will be long, close and
chenille trimmed. An afternoon early
in December has been chosen, nnd
while people are nibbling their biscuit
or dawdling with their teaspoons a new
society aspirant will be launched most
boa at the hem and Is draped with a unobtrusively. ELLEN OSBORN.
NEWPORT NEWS, VA., SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 1898.
CHOOSING BRIDESMAIDS.
Pronpectlre Briden Should Select
GirlalVholValk Well with U?ce
f nlly-Poined Ileuda.
"In selecting' bridesmaids," said she
of the emerald and diamond ring to the
New York Commercial Advertiser
writer, "it is not beauty that counts
so tuur^l" Z'L "tyi*: and carriage, Most
overseer with shovels and tied into the,
bush. Nobody was ever hanged for the
crime, because some 40 of them were in
it?and that would have been rather a
] large consignment to condemn, even
J in the far east, where human life is so
cheap.
There nre 250.000 Chinese in Bang?
kok alone, and .they do not appeal to
t one's cordial emotions?very much the
contrary. And should this catch the
bitdes take a great^^ of_prjde in j eye of a.ny;Jutending .yij".tgrj^^foe,fay
them to show to the best advantage, j wisdom of venturing to spend anight
It is very important that a brides- !
maid should walk well. The wedding |
marches are more suited to grand opera :
stages than church aisles, and while
Elsa's or Lucia's attendants can walk :
in gracefully to such music, the most .
graceful of girls is apt to sway and fill- i
tcr trying to keep time and step with
the same strains. I've watched bridal
processions and I've seen radiantly
pretty girls lose all effect of their good
looks by a hobbling walk. A brides?
maid should glitle, not limp or hop.
The beauty of a faultless frock and the
stateliness of a pict tire hat vanish when
the wearer is awkward and obviously
ill at ease. The bride herself is helped
by her long train, her drooping head
and the leaning on her father's arm be?
fore and on her husband's after the cer?
emony, but the bridesmaid wears a
short gown, carries her bead erect,
walks up and down beside another
girl, and so has her own grace alone
to depend upon. A girl who walks well,
whose head is well-po\sed on her shoul?
ders and whose hair arranges well
makes a good appearance as a brides?
maid, and?-well, all mine are like that."
on a Chinese junk without so much as
a revolver to defend himself with. Oc?
casionally a European is discovered by
the marine police lloating on the wa?
ter with Iiis throat cut. In such a case
it is highly probable that he had been
foolhardy, as 1 was. But different peo?
ple are born to different ends, and tlie
Chinese contempt of the European is
frequently justified by facts.
BANKING IN SWITZERLAND.
TALLEST IN THE MORNING.
COWARDLY SPANIARDS.
The Dlnplcablc Conduct of the Via
caya'a Crew a< the Mattle
of Santiago.
The contrast between the two nation
stands out very clearly in connection
with the Vi/.caya, says Ira Nelson llollis
in the Atlantic. The torpedo boat Erics?
son ran close alongside of her. and sent
u small boat to take off all that wer-:
alive of her crew. A few boats from the
Iowa assisted. The Vizcaya was on tire
fore and aft; the ammunition on board
was exploding, and the guns that had
been left loaded were going off one iiftei
anotherin the intense heat, to say noth?
ing of 1 he proximity of the shore. The
position of the little craft has been de- j
My Eventual Most People Have Shrnnli
Half un Inch?How Men Uct
Into the Army.
"The singular fact that people are
about half an inch taller in- the morning
than they are in the afternoon has en?
abled many a fellow to slip into the
army," said an olliccr who has seen a
m-od deal of recruiting service. "Time
and again when the examinations were
being conducted at a tolerably early
hour men have been passed in my pres?
ence who were barely up to the regula?
tion height, in fact, they were under
it a shade, and the thickness of a card?
board would have resulted in throwing
them out. I am perfectly confident
that if these same men had been re
n.easured just before taps in the. even?
ing they would have fallen so far short
that they would never by any possibil?
ity have been aecepetd. I have heard
it said that a man can put nearly an
inch in his height by staying in bed
for a conidc of days and mea-while tak?
ing several hot baths, but I have never
seen the thing tried. The average morn?
ing and evening variation I have found
hy a good deal of experimcntine on
nivsclf and others '?> be a little less than
It Ordinarily Tnkea Hut Fifteen Min?
uten to .Mule- n Depu.it If Von
Are toviiy.
Some Swiss methods are sufficiently
iintiquated, according to our standards.
For instance, it requires 15 minutes in
which to make a deposit at. a bank, says
the Chicago Record. i
i. jjgttorn11h" git 'cms htrirmr'. ami y c-m_
??mull -it-'?-~ ??.?- . .--.Krt.v. ?,.tcs=:
or is eL^ected to sit quietly and culli- ]
vate a spirit of patience while the ma?
chinery is getting under way.
A customer who wishes to make a de?
posit goes to u window and hands in bis
money, together with a memorandum
of the amount. The employe behind the
railing counts the money and prepares
u receipt for it, adding his signature by
way of preliminary.
Then a small boy till;.-?? this receipt
upstairs and submits it to an otlicial,
who studies it and then ponders for a
while as to whether it will be safe to
take the money. If lie decides that the
bank can undertake the risk he passes
the receipt to another man. who pre?
pares a duplicate slip ami makes several
entries, ami finally signs his mi.
Then, as soon as another man lias ex?
amined the receipt and added his name,
it is taken downstairs and handed to
the depositor. There is one sat isfact ion
?the money is thoroughly deposijed.
An American residing in Zurich went
to the bank the other day with a check
v. hielt had been given to him by a busi?
ness mail in a large town near by. lie
handed in the check, and St) minute-!
later received his money, less 14 cents
charges. The American was well known
a; the bank, having been a depositor for
about two years. lie had indorsed the
check.
A busy and nervous Chicago man
would have torn down the railing be?
fore the till minutes expired.
FRENCH FEMININE FENCERS.
Chnnce lor Choice.
"There are several routes for the
canal across the Isthmus of Panama, i
understand."
"Yes, Uncle Sam can take his pick
scribed as perilous in the extreme. Our and then shovel his way across."?N. V
men risked their lives repeatedly t
help their fallen enemy; but no sooner 1
were the Spaniards transferred to the I
deck of the Ericsson than they urged :
immediate withdrawal without regard i
to their comrades who had been left !
behind. To the honor of our navy, j
Lieut. Ushur remained until every lie- i
ing being had been rescued from the j
burning ship. A similar scene was en?
acted around the two torpedo boat de- ?
btroycrs. It was a case of mad panic j
on the one side, and of perfect coolness I
on the other. One officer of the Viz?
caya afterward stated on board the!
Iowa that they were obliged to (dose 1 be !
gun ports on the disengaged side of the
ship, to prevent the men from jumping
overboard rather than face the Ameri?
can gun fire.
CRIMES OF COOLIES.
The l.ow-I.tve;! Monicola Are n? Can
nlnsr us l-'oxet, and .in Con*
ardly it* Wolves.
They are a queer crowd, these coolies,
whether on land or sea, says the Lud?
gute Magazine. Cunning as foxes and
cowardly as wolves, they resemble the
pariah dogs of their own "itics in point
of inability to hunt any prey save in
packs. 1 heard of an instance where
a gang of them, employed as navvies
in the cuttinir of a railway, killed their
Journal.
Quite I.lkelr.
IT? ? Handsome woman, that Mnj.
Dockl's wife; but what loud gowns she
wears!
She?I suppose because the major ii
so shockingly deaf, yon know.?Har?
lem Life.
Johnny'* Mlmnke.
"Well, Johnny, do you feel proud of
being an uncle?"
"No, 'cause I ain't no uncle."
"Why not?"
" 'Cause I'm an aunt. The new
baby's a girl."?Cincinnati Enquirer.
Smnrt Young; Jinn.
"Now, liarry," asked the teacher of
the juvenile class, "what is the meal
we eat in the morning called?"
"Oatmeal," was the little fellow's
prompt reply.?Tit-Hits.
Explained.
i Piper?Say, Muggsy, wat's a statu
I cpio, anyhow?
Muggsby?Why. dttt's when you'w
got de jay down an' are sittin' on him.?
Philadelphia North American.
A Mnde Awnkenlnit.
Wife?John, I wish you would let me
Juive $50 this morning.
Husband?My dear, yen must have
dreamed tha^ I married an heiress,
tUdn't you??Iicmtoyille Commercial.
There I. a l'im.l !>111 < y That the Wo
nn 1>ui-1. of the Kejfeney May
Me Revived.
American women have never taken
up fencing witli the enthusiasm shown
by English und French women, and
feminine duellists in our country will
doubtless continue to choose tongues
as weapons; but there have been wihl
rumors that feminine skill with the
foils, in France, wouid lead ton revival
of the times of the regency, when bona
fide duels between women were no un?
common occurrence.
Only a few weeks ago two fair
Parisians, says the New York Sun, not
averse to notoriety, arranged a meet?
ing, but friends persuaded them to set?
tle the quarrel and call the duel off,
much to the regret of scandal lovers.
Many French women nre expert fencers,
and In London the fad has been encour?
aged by the sweilest set. A really swag?
ger feminine duel would be a new sen?
sation in society. It would be roman?
tic and becoming, for nothing shows
off the figure to such advantage as fenc?
ing. Then the possibilities in dueling
costumes are most enticing. By all
means, let us light duels.
The results need be no more serious
than in modern "honorableencounters"
I between French deputies; and Hie af?
fairs would be chic and picturesque in
I the extreme. But in the feminine duel
the. audience must not be limited to sec?
onds and physicians. One should make
a social function of it, and relieve I he
tedium of afternoon teas and recep?
tions. There would lie but one objec?
tion to the new fad. Its advertising
possibilities are so superb that the
dramatic profession would rush into
it with mad fervor, and the fad, instead
of the combatants, would be run into
the fc-round.
PAGES
5 T 3 8
P RlP,TrS,NGLE COPY TWO CENT
l it IV '^QNEWEEK, TEN CENTS
2) - SUM -x
\ RIGHT WAY TO TAKE
& A BATH ,*
Stationary Bath Tubs Are by No Means Absolutely Neces
sary What It Is to Be Clean.
- 0<i|iyrl(tht, 1898
'.'S.
and tlx. I
. U reeks'
Most of us fail to 11
first principles of balhi:i
und Kornaus as nation
titan we tlo. ami p, i ha
sibility for t Iiis lies with
bat lit lib. Tho tnli ina\ als:? Im- ac
conntablc fur the fact that i ,-sl ,,r us
ilon't know how to bathe. Ilooiirh the
nice has been washing ;:' with llmlv
or less assiduity sine- 15. r.
Americans have conic in rc-nnl as a
necessity the bathtub, with iI?> hot nr. 1
cold water faucets, iinb-ssii isal hand
the needed bath is genera 11 \ indelinitc
ly postponed.
'Phis was shown during I he wa r. when
the volunteers?especially those at
ramp Alger, where there were f,.u
mutant
Tin- I
u reinovHijT dirt; the differ
ic manner of using them,
kish I,a Hi mlvocate would
ieve thill one must perspire
usly t.> washing, thus leav?
ing tie- pures open in order to get all
' r! out of them. This is a mistaken
ah a. because a normally active person
perspires through the iluv from exer
i-.-. which thus nerf.irnis all the func?
tions ih,- steaniroom in a Turkish
bath. Such a one requires no elaborate
Ixilliing arrangements; In- only nectls
!" wash ail over with snap and water
"ml lo rub briskly olTwilb a towel.
In Ho- I'nrkish bin liil?.,c i8 often too
much rubbing. We can rub the skin for
hoi,,., a,hI all the ?
streams or poois?accustomed In Hie ' ' s''
luxurious bathtub, abandoned bathing' '"'I'1''
altogether and washed only I heir hands i '""
and faces. The pails anil tin wash | li'.ver
basins did not appeal to them as a hcnltl
means of washing in "the altogether." ' dead.
lint there were other soldiers who I lf :
used basin or pail once a day. and In
taking a sponge bath kept as clean as
they ever were in their lives. Some of I "'?
them were cleaner, because in their ,m.V l':
customary morning "dips" thev bad j ?" ''"
never got really washed. Her,
-mull particles
will cone oil'. Il is a popular!
""i 'leu this skin is unclean,j
? skin c,,,,Msis of: many thBnf
n ml il is easy to ruh off the |
.-.kin as well as thai which is'
a person wishes In l>c as clean as!
iblc he evidently should bathe.'
i dny. lor there is no intermission
a- wearing off of the skin, and no
pusses w ill,oni some oil appearing
1,<- surface.
Igain the Turkish bath and tho
There arc two sorts of bathing - for ? stationary bathtub t,-ii,l to engender
pleasure and for cleanliness. The e
mottest form of washing for pleasure is
the cold morning plunge. This in:
stantnneous method is a pleasant way
of waking up the nerves some people
prefer to lie in bed and allow Diem to
wake up gradually, but il is not wash,
ing. A pin or a whiplash used every
morning would accomplish the same re
bad habits, for the former is weaken?
ing if taken offener Hum once a week
an,! the linthtub is ?seldom used more
frequently than that for the purpose*
of taking a thorough wash with soup.
W hen tin- ball, is taken there is an ac?
cumulation of seven days' perspiration
and dead skin on the surface of the
body.
A QUICK AND SENSIBLE BATH.
suit, though not so agreeably. The pin
prick would also be almost as cleans?
ing as the momentary touch of the wa?
ter that goes witli u morning dip.
The Turkish and Russian Inn Iis arc
not entirely bathing for pleasure; they
make the body clean enough. 1ml use
of them is a waste of lime and money
because a person in goo,I health can
keep the skin in proper condition and
never go near a steam room. To spend
several hours a week in being washed
is indeed the excess of luxury, and
such is a legitimate pleasure perhaps.
The habitue of a Turkish bathhouse,
however, contracts the dangerous opin?
ion that lie needs steam heal and a
man to rub him in order to get clean.
This results in great personal discom?
fort and often in a sadly unwashed
condition when there arc no Turkish
baths in tlx- neighborhood.
In discussing bathing for cleanliness
we must first know what it is "lo be
clean." When one understands some?
thing about the skin one will accept
no excuse for nnclcanliness in n person
living in a civilized community, for Hi :
simplest means accomplish the most
satisfactory results in cleansing the
skin.
Filth in body. like the universe of the
ancients, consists of two things. Iis
elements are oil and dead skin. As the
snake, a human being sheds his skin
once or twice a year, but he shuttles it
off gradually. This old skin, together
with the oily matter, known as per?
spiration in polite society, decomposes
if left on tlie body?then the skin is
dirty.
1 The problem of keeping clean is
simple enough?keep the surface of the
body as free as may lie from the oil
that comes through the pores every day
und from the dead skin that is con?
stantly forming.
This may be done thoroughly only by
the use of a combination of soap, water
and friction. There are no two opin
j ions regarding these, necessary con
While, of course, the buthtub can bo'
used fur tin- purpose of having a gen?
uine w ash every morning, it is quite un?
necessary ami a dangerous temptation;
to '?dipping" without washing. There
is also an objection to it on account
of tin- health, be,-:,use when we use it!
the feet always lunch I lie water before):
(lie head docs. This causes the blood'
to rush away from the feet instead oC
from tin- bead, und is not a pleasant'
way of w aking up the nerves, being aptf
I,, produce headache.
The mode of bathing for cleanliness;
that is nearly ideal, us it, is most effect-1
ive, calls lor only u sponge and a cheap
tin basin, used every morning.
if everybody appreciated the fact
that i here is within easy reach of the
poorest person the complete meHins of
performing us healthful and effective
ablutions as the millionaire, there,
would be a greater number of thor?
oughly washed people in civilized com?
munities. No excuse for an ill-smelling
pei son wili pass, for no matter how
limited a man's income or how incon?
venient Iiis quarters, he can procure a
tin pan or basin of water and a sponge.
With these and a bar of soap he may
take a thorough wash every morning
ami In- could nut. do more toward get
j ting himself clean if he had a marbla
1 bath tub.
T he water for the bath should be as
i obi as one can stand without being un?
pleasantly shocked. Cold water used
with snap is quite as cleansing as
warm water and more refreshing.
Some skins, however, are more sensi?
tive than others, and very cold water
should not be used on them.
Standing in his pan of water a man.
can go over his body very quiekly antt
thoroughly with a sponge and soapand?
afterwards a coarse towel, thus re?
moving all the past day's uncleanliness.
There is nothing else to be done. Tho
most elaborate bathing does no more,
only takes much longer.
DANIEL OLSVEBTOS,