Wood County reporter. [volume], January 12, 1899, Image 3

About Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923

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AX AMERICAS HEIBBSS ABROAD.
PAULINE, DACGHTBR OF UII.UAM WALDORF ASTOR, REPORTED TO
HE EMU.VGbD TO THE DIKE OF ROXBURGH.
THE TRAINING OF AN HEIRESS.
The Marvelous Adroit Methods by Which
She Is Brought to the Perfection of
a Society Belle.
LONDON. Dec. lit*, -in the train
ing of an heiress great rigidity of dis
cipline is absolutely necessary. An
ipitobiographist has recently said;
’That a girl’s mother lias not the hard
ness of heart to train a beautiful heir
ess successfully, and that her beauty
received her correct training only from
having a weak, insistent and foolish
mother.”
That the business of traveling gov
ernesses has grown to bo an important
one. and that nowadays a governess
and chaperon are Usually combined is
forcibly demonstrated by the passenger
lists of European travel.
That this is a proud post gladly
THREE COSTUMES FOR “LADIES* DAY,” THE DAY AFTER NEW YEAR’S DAY.
THESE I'll KTT V I ALl,l>r. TOII.KITKB ARE MADE ATTRACTIVE BV THEIR SOFT CHIFFON (iiKMTI HKS
(By a Professional Companion.)
I accepted by the finest ladies of lltera
i ture and society, and —not least —that
j another great heiress is to be intro
duced into society to dazzle the eyes
and tempt the affections of suitors is
a feature of great importance to the
average chaperon.
AN ART.
The business of chaperoning has
i become such an art that those who take
it up call it The training of an heir
ess." It embraces proper chaperonage
around the world, the introduction to
I court circles and every educational ad
-1 vantage.
; To chaperon an heiress a thorough
1 knowledge of the ettiquette of all
f The Woman of 1899. |
countries Is an absolute Imperative,
and the thousand personal graces and
delicate refinement of accent that are
the marks of fine breeding and worthy
wealth. Little wonder that society
women of not very great fortunes ac
cept such posts and smaller wonder
that none but those of extra attain
ments can fill them.
The question of dress which Is sup
posed to play a large part in the life
of an heiress is little mentioned by
the chaperon. The young woman is
impressed with the idea that muslins
and woolens are all, absolutely all, she
can wear until her debut, and after
that she is only a lay figure in the
hands of her tailor.
She is strictly kept from putting
on ribbons or ornaments, and unless
she is a vain young woman she soon
learns this lesson and is quite serious
in her garb as all foreign girls are until
that eventful time, the debut.
The matter of food is a delicate
one with the chaperon. She is a wom
an herself with a grown up liking for
salads and course dinners. With her,
as constant companion, is a young lady
for whom she is responsible in looks,
digestion, tastes and appetite.
By self-denial on her own part, and
by severity to the young lady in
charge—who may be a woman of 18 —
she keeps her down to a diet of cereals,
vegetables and meat. Her drinks are
lemonade, if she is fat, and milk if she
is thin. She has no ices, nor creams and
candy is for her a totally forbidden
thing.
PROFESSIONAL WORK.
The business of professional chap
eroning is kept so very secret that very
few ever hear of it. The chaperons
themselves are very difficult to obtain,
as they require a great deal before ac
cepting—social position, intelligence,
good disposition and congeniality —
but once accepted there is never a
word said afterwards about the rela
tive positions of the two. They are
for the year practically mother and
daughter.
Once in Europe the young girl be
comes nobody immediately. She is a
“little girl.’’ the childish charge of a
chaperon, and as such she is invited
to visit certain places at certain times.
But she goes to no dinner parties, and
she dances at no balls.
Her chaperon, to maintain her own
social position, may be obliged to ac
cept such invitations, but the yvealthy
young charge remains at home to be
put to bed at 8 o’clock. In America
she has led a gay life, but on the Con
tinent she is a little girl again and
must accept her lot as the price of a
later acquaintance with British and
Continental nobility.
The chaperon is entertained at
luncheon, and here the young charge
may go. She rebels at the limited
skirt just below her boot tops, and the
round waists that are furnished her —
she who has been queening it at Bar
Harbor, in crinoline and lace ali sum
mer. But it is no use to complain.
The English will consider her a lit
tle girl until her debut and presenta
tion at court. After luncheon the “lit
tle girl” is sent to inspect the art gal
lery. A catalogue is furnished her as
a souvenir and she knows that later
in the day her chaperon will ask her
about the styles of this or of that paint
ing, and she will have to answer.
According to rules, she massages
each inch of complexion every night,
and is carefully guardful of the ice
water dash for slenderness. She speaks
not a word of English, and opens her
eyes in well-bred surprise if the Ameri
can madamoiselle speaks to her in any
language but French. By and by,
though the American girl does not
know it. there will be a German maid,
and later an Italian, and a French. In
this way she will keep up her languages
beyond mistake.
A DEADLY ROUTINE.
Mornings, as a special favor, the
wide awake American girl who under
stands a flirtation upon the beach and
a shopping trip with a fine lunch, is
invited as a special favor to “study” in
Lady Somebody’s nursery, with her
ladyship’s big sleepy-eyed, rosy-cheeked
English daughters.
The heiress gets a fair return for
her money, aiid the chaperon comes
home if tired and worn out with the
long strain of “training an heiress”
abundently rewarded in a monetary
way. The sum o& money charged for
professional ehapdronage is like that
of a good wife “beyond rubies.”
There is no fixed figure, and *he
amount is a confidential matter be
tween the guardian of the girl and the
chaperon. A millionaire’s widow offer
ed the widow of a President $500,000
and expenses to take her daughter to
Germany for a year. “It would do her
good,’’ urged the millionaire’s widow.
“I cannot take her,” said the Presi
dent’s widow. “My influence depends
upon the personality of the girls I am
to introduce abroad.”
Queen Victoria recognizes the pro
fessional introducer very cordially.
There are three ladies of title now in
London who introduce desirable Ameri
can heiresses at court every winter, and
her Majesty has the utmost confidence
in their propriety of selection. English
girls are seldom chaperoned through
America by friends.
But here the newness of the archi
tecture and the lack of “history” makes
a journey less an educator of the
world’s great events. A journey abroad
under a chaperon is the top notch of
culture and the heiress so fortunate as
to secure it is sure of a quick place
in society.
A NEW FAD
JJOGDOM.
Fido May Now Sit on His Hind
Legs and Exhibit a Tattooed
Neck Decoration.
F:>r years the world of fashion fol
io wee the rapid pace set by Mrs. Fred
erick Gebhard in the world of dogdom.
Her pets were the sleekest, the most
accomplished and the best groomed
dogs of the South, where they were
raised—for Miss Morris was a South
ern girl—or of the North, where they
spent their summers.
Now, for lack cf a fashion leader,
the owners of pet dogs must look all
THE TATTOOED DOG.
over the world and borrow the newest
and prettiest from the dogs of all na
tions, as it were.
Lady Brassey’s poodles were the
first “parted” dogs in London, and the
Princess of "Wales had the first trick
fox terrier of the drawing-room, but
THE WIPE OF NANSEN IN NORTH POLE COSTUME.
MRS NANSEN'S WAY OF SPENDING A LONELY HOLIDAY.
since then fashions and manners have
been made for dogs until one’s pet
must arise early and study all day
long in order to be as up-to-date as
the rest of the dog world.
The very latest for pet dogs is the
monogram which is tattooed upon the
animal in some conspicuous spot to be
come a permanent mark of ownership
and personality.
The favorite tattoo is a monogram
which is placed upon the dog's breast
just below his ollar bone. Either his
own monogram, cr that of his mis
tress, is used, and a fancy scroll work
may or may not be placed around it.
To get the monogram upon the
dog’s breast a professional tattooer is
employed, who works with a sharp nee
dle. pricking the pigments into the
tender skin, antil it is perfectly tat
tooed. There are several professionals
who make a specialty of this work, and
can tattoo a very pretty monogram in
a very few minutes. The process is
necessarily painful, but so keen is the
dog to any improvement upon himself
that he patiently endures the pain.
Many professional tattooers are now
working upon pet dogs, being quick to
see that there is money in the work
just at present. They make regular
appointments, and call to see the vic
tim at the set time. He. poor fellow-,
having been exercised and fed, is found
nicely warmed, in a comfortable blan
ket. ready to be w orked upon. At first
the dog shows by mm signs that he
does not like the feel? r of the needle,
but on being admoni ed by his mis
tress he subsides and atiently endures
the tattoo without a ;rowl. Next day
the tattooer calls tr see the patient,
and. if the work is complete, allows
him his liberty again. Otherwise he
is worked upon further and kept in
warm quarters, with the finest and
softest fo .and furnished him at inter
vals. as though he were a baby.
J. T g!y desrs are slow to tattoo, be
cause tic v will not allow the tattooer to
prick then more than once or twice; so
he must make a great many trips and
even then <he monogram is ragged and
out of shape. Fox terriers are the most
patient of all.
No owner of a fine dog allows other
than professional hands to touch her
pet. and a monogram for Fido Is as
expensive us one for his mistress.
MRS. NANSEN’S
LONELYHOLIDAY.
She Sings Xew Year Ballads
While He Hunts for the
North Pole.
The loneliest, coldest Xew Year's
days on record are spent by Frau Nan
sen, who sings carols in her Norwegian
home while her explorer kusband
searches far away for the North pole.
Yet Mrs. Nansen sings gladly for she
knows that she is carolling in obedience
to him, as well as for the joy of the
earth.
When Dr. Nansen married Eva
Sars, ten years ago, it was agreed be
tween them that there should be no
material change in the methods of their
lives. The husband was to continue his
work of exploration, and the wife was
to teach music, as she had done for
years. This plan they have pursued
with few exceptions. Sometimes Mrs.
Nansen has accompanied her husband
in his winter skee runs in the moun
tains and valleys of Norway, and she
has frequently threatened to go with
him to the Arctic regions, but he has
persuaded her to stay at home.
So she has let him go without her,
and when he is away she teaches music
and cares for her little daughter. Life,
or as the Norwegians call It, Liv. Liv’s
father left her once when she was
only a baby and for months her mother
did not know whether he was alive
or not.
The Nansen home is at Christiania,
Norway, It is a beautiful house at the'
foot of a wmoded hill, with fair mead
ows and fragrant pine woods, and is
an Ideal retreat for one whose life
work takes him away Into the bleak
cheerlessness of Northern winters so
often The home is called Godthaab
Villa.
Frau Nansen has the reputation of
being the finest ballad singer in Nor
way. She is a petite woman of brunette
beauts’ - , a woman who would be hand
some anywhere, among any people. She
dresses in the latest Parisian styles.
Her house is filled with works of
art and curiosities from all parts of the
world, including trophies of Dr. Nan
sen’s Greenland and other explorations
and his many medals. The house is
constructed of pine wood trunks of
trees, giving it a most picturesque ap
pearance, inside as well as out. The
furniture harmonizes with it.
There are the carved dragons’
heads of the Norse people in the furni
ture, as well as in the projections of
the house itself, for the Nansens love
the Norse; and one is taken back to
the days of mediaevalism. as one enters
this ancient shelter of modern science.
The most modern thing in it is the
grand piano that stands in the centre
of the parlor. This piano has all the
latest improvements, and Mral Nanssn
plays it exquisitely.
Although her husband is away from
her so much, this brave little woman
makes the best of it. She knew before
marriage that her husband had a life
work before him, and that she must
be prepared to make sacrifices in the
cause of science.
She makes them and complains not.
although she \would be less than a
woman did she not wish that some
day her husband would feel that he
has done enough for the world and
w-ould rest in peace for the balance
of his daj-s by his own hearthstone.
NO WRINKLES.
Wrinkles come from a drying out
of the skin, and a dr}* massage will
make wrinkles while a proper massage
will do away with them.
A prominent authority on facial
treatment says: “Six drops of olive oil,
carefully massaged about the face and
throat, left on over night, and washed
off with tepid water and no soap In
the morning, will do wonders In the
way of holding at bay those tell-tale
wrinkles that ail women dread.
The treatment should be repeated
every third night, unless it is found
that this makes the skin too oily, when
a little longer interval may be observed.
Use the tips of the fingers and stroke
the oil In gently and firmly.
+
A LUNCHEON DRINK.
A pleasant drink at luncheons,
where women do not drink wine, is
made from orange juice treated with
fruits. The juice is served In tall
glasses and is undiluted. Into each
glass Is dropped four slices of banana,
a Tokay grape cut and seeded, a slice
from a tart apple, and a pinch of
sugar.
The drink, of course. Is intended
to be sipped through the courses and
may be the only one served. A pre
served cherry and slice of canned
peach or any other pretty fruit can
be usmL
THE NEW USES
OF CHIFFON.
Very Effective Way of Dressing
Up a Plain Home Hod ice.
NEW YEAR DAY WAISTS.
Simple Knffle> < f hiffcm Become
Glorified Under the Electric
Lights.
FEATHERS USED WITH CHIFFON.
NEW YORK, Dec. 2S.—The old
year is out and the new year is in.
Dame fashion has packed her trunk
and will take away with her many a
fad and many a foible of the old year’s
style of dressing. The big puffed
cL ■
sleeves are buried in the trunk under
the light 3 r ard skirts, and the crinoline
is heaped on top of both. Dame fash
ion is busy unpacking the new modes
which are exceptionally pretty.
For dressy occasions, and for even
ing use, she has quantities of chiffon,
soft, silky stuff, which is most decora
tive. It is ty?ed upon waists for drap
ery, ruffles and trimmings. On capes
chiffons are much seen and neck or
naments are as numerous as the sands
of the sea.
RECEPTION WAISTS.
For New Year Day reception, chif
fon is indispensible. Asa hostess of
40 expressed it. standing under the
searching electric lights of a big chan
delier; “a few yards of eh Ilf on will do
a great deal for one in a trying situa
tion.” Upon young trim figures with
fresh faces it is lovely to a degree.
For house waists the favorite trim
ming is the ruffle which Is used very
freely. Waists are ruffled from stock
to yoke, and the vest is covered with
soft frills of chiffon. For house use
FOK THE WOMAN \V HO KIKES CHIFFON.
\L
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and f:-" -*, ft
VS' -7 'A ,7 \ c^-
THE SOFTEST OF CHIFFON KfTECTI
an waist an he made into anew
one hv the use rf chiffon •
The easiest way is to cover the
waist entirely, but a dressier way is
to ru-fle ft.
it is the season of ail day enter
tainmeuts stretching from a morning
“read! .g to a grand opera matinee,
and. going from one to another, leaves
very little time for changing a gown,
so milady dons a chiffon collarette and
muff. With her severest tailormade
gown it gives the air of a frou-frou
creation.
■ The chiffon muffs are the latest
fad. Of course they are made of satin
and padded, but so covered with chif
fon that at first glance one thinks how
femininely inconsistent they are. Chif
fon to keep one's hands warm! With
them are used jewelled chains or
! strings of tiny pearls.
The very quaintest one was made
of owlet feathers, white chiffon and
the most exquisite artificial orchi ls—
the delicate mauve ones. The boa was
■ a band of the downy feathers, be
, tween deep ruchings of white chiffon.
About six Inches from each end was
tied one large orchid. The vest ac
companying was a full blouse effect of
white chiffon and mauve ribbon.
A MODISH HAT A-\D BOA.
BECOMING TO A LONG, THIST NECK.
The dear little muff which hung
by a pearl and silver chain was made
of mauve satin, but almost covered
with the soft brown owlet feathers, and
an owl’s head with great round eyes
peered solemnly from the chiffon ruffles
and mauve orchids. Avery smart
ruche was of white tulle, very full and
edged with large black chenille dots.
White and black promise to be
worn most, and, even In the ostrich
boas, one sees a short white boa with
black tips and white uncurled feather
ends.
Next in favor is black and violet.
For instance, a small cape of black
ostrich feathers and jetted black tulle
had a single violet ostrich tip placed
on the left side.
Very odd indeed are the yoke ruffles
shown in all the delicate evening
shades. They are simply two chiffon
ruffles, hung bv satin ribbons which
are tied on the shoulders, and the
ruffles fall yoke length back and front
and over the sleeves.
MARY GOODWIN HUBBELL.