The Opelousas courier., 1883-12-08
LADIES' DEPARTMENT.
The 1slaok-Faeed woman Of Alaska.

The 13lack-Faced Woman of Alaska.
At juneau, says a correspondent, the
women and children tripped down in
their bare feet, and sat around on the
dripping wharf with a recklessness
that suggested pneumonia, consump-
ton, and all those kindred ills from
which they suffer 50 severely. Nearly
all of the women had their faces
BACKED, and no one can imagine any
thing more frightful and sinister on a
melancholy day than to be confronted
by n Of these silent, stealthy figures
with the great circles of the whites of
the eyes alone visible in the shadow of
the blanket. A dozen fictitious reasons
are given for this face backing. One
Indian says that the widows and those
who have suffered great sorrow wear
the black in token thereof. Another
native authority makes it a sign of
happiness, while occasionally a gig
Cling dame confesses that it is. done to
preserve the complexion. Ludicrous
as this may seem to the bleached eau
easian and ladies of rice powdered and
enameled c~ountenances, the matrons of
high fashion and the swell damsels of
the Thlinket tribes never make a
canoe voyage without smearing them
selves we'll with the black dye that
they get from a certain wild root of
the woods, or with a paste Of SCOT and
seal oil. On sunny and windy days on
shore they protect themselves from the
tan and sun-burn by this same inky
coating. On feast days and the great
occasions, when they wash off the
black, their compilations come out as
fair and creamy white as the palest of
their Japanese cousins across the
water, and the women are then een
to be some six shades lighter than the
tan-colored and coffee-colored lords of
their tribe. The specimen woman of
juneau wore a thin calico dress and a
thick, blue blanket. Her feet were
bare, but SIZE was compensated for that
loss of gear by the %turkey-red parasol
that she posed over her head with all
the c~omplaceney of a Mount Desert
belle. She had BACKED her face to the
edgeof her eyelids and the roots of her
hair; she wore the parure of silver
nose-ring, lip-ring and earrings, with
FIVE silver bracelets on each wrist, and
fifteen rings ornamenting her bronze
fingers, and a more thoroughly proud
and self-satisied creature never ar
rayed herself according to the behests
of high fashion.
How ladies, 1Taadkerchiefs Came IntO
sBtyle.n
A wart on Anne Boleyn's neck made
a certain necklace fashionable; and
now we r just told that Josephine's
poor teeth introduced nice white hand
kerchiefs to the beau monde:
Acorrespondent of the Paris Amea5-.
can Register writes: I have so often
heard French persons criticise the I'M
willingness of English and American
ladies to name certain articles of the
feminine toilet that I was delighted, a
few days ago. in pursuing some old
chronicles, to find out that it was pos
sible for the French to be quite as
prudish as we. Until the reign of the
Empress Josephine a handkerchief was
thought in France so shocking an OBJ
ject that a lady would never have
dared to s it before any me-. The
word, even, vas carefully avoided in
refined conversation. / doubt if even
French elegantes would carry
handkerchiefs IL the wife of Napoleon
I had not given the signal for adopt
ing them. The Empress Josephine, al
though really lovely, had ugly teeth.
To conceal them she was in the habit
of carrying small handkerchiefs a.
dorned with costly laces, which she
continually raised gracefully to her
lips. OF course all the ladies Of the
court followed her example, and hand
have rapidly become an inn
portant and costly part Of the feminine
SO much SO that the price Of a
handkerchief Of the trosseau
Of the Duchess Of Edinburgh would
make the fortune Of q necessitous
Fashion Notes.
Charles TX and Louis XT shoes are
worn with dressy house toilets.
Crepore yelling is a new crape-like