The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1880-01-02
THE REFINEMENT OF LUXURY.
How n Pnristan. Belle keeps Warm
In the Winter Season.
liza Vie Parisienne. I

/
/ La Vie Paris!enne1
An hour before you get up your maid
will light your fire, and then screen il
with silver framework lined with rose
silk, which will temper the heat and give
to the whole room sort of rosy morning
Hight, that warns while it illumines
Then she will bring you on silver plate
warmer, your cup of chocolate, hot and
foaming,, which you will drink from the
warmer itself, munching the while your
rusks, served on a little gold. toast rack,
kept hot in its turn by a little live char
ooal sprinkled with vanilla to perfume
the air.
After you have taken your chocolate
you. will snooze again for couple of
hours. Then you will put on desha-
billie of pink satin lined with swansdown;
Eenveloping the whole body from head to
foot. The waistband and the fastening
of the back of this garment must be Of
velvet, SO as to be warm to the touch.
You may now pass into the bathroom,
the atmosphere of which will be kept at
an agreeable temperature by little gusts
OF rose-scented vapor pumped through an
aperture in the wall.
The next part Of our subject is deli
cate one; but honi soft qui NAL y pense.
1t is now time to draw on the stockings
lined with warm flossy silk, long and per-
fumed, and gartered with Russian sables
olasped with cats eyes stones set in dia-
monds. The boots are to be lined with
swansdown, and trimmed with Russian
sables as we'll.
Our precious product of high civiliza-
tion is now in her dressing room. This
is to be made comfortable by means of
an immense foot warmer, some two me-
tiers square. which is to form kind of
second flooring to all about the dressing
table. The blinds may be colored to rep
resent "the ardent rays of the sum-" and
the padding to keep out the draught is
to be trimmed with natural flowers. This
will make the place look and feel like a
summer bower in the depth of winter.
The maid may now "fumigate the nape
of the neck" with little burnt benzoin,
to make it supple-an exquisite character
istic provision, for without supple neck
how could French person possibly get
through the duties Of politeness for the
day?
We must not forget the hands. These
may be kept warm by holding in them
two little vessels of enamel filled with
warm water and shaped like apples
rather in bad taste in this direction, as
tending to remind our Parisienne Of the
frivolity of taste by which her sex first
came to grief The promised advantage
of this arrangement is that it gives the
hands that attractive rosiness which
warmth alone can impart.
For the middle of the day the Paris
ienne simply continues all these precau-
tiors by avoiding, as though it were
laden with the breath of pestilence,
every touch Of cold air. The rusks that
form her morning meal might be baked
in her drawing room, and the carriage in
which she takes her drive is hermetically
closed. She may realize winter by see
ing the streetsweepers blowing on their
fingers through the windows.
1t is bedtime, and we are once more in
the hands of our guide. He, however,
stands discreetly in the background un-
til his interesting patroness has assumed
the vehement ordinaire. He then comes
forward to recommend a second garment
"a sort of ulster of white plush trimmed
with ostrich feathers at the neck and
wrists-which is to be worn as an over
all. The nightcap of white satin should
be trimmed with feathers of the same
bird, and, for additional warmth, a turtle
dove may be fastened above the left ear.
The very hands are to have their night
cap-g loves Of pink kid lined with plush
and fastened by elastics lin pink che
nille), so as not to check the circulation.
The bed is to be heated by the fumes
of burnt lime flowers and violets. These
agreeable and calming emanations re-
place advantageously the old fashioned
warming pan.
Then you will drink, just before going
to sleep, light creme de Sabillion, nice
and hot, made with two fresh eggs and
small glass Of Madeira. By carefully
following these directions one may hope
not to suffer too much in the winter
time. .-r..