The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-05-28
THE Do1Nas OF WOMEN FOLK.
Parlor and Sidewalk Gossip Picked UP
Eere and There.


NEW YORK, May 29.-When the great
American novel comes to be written, as
like as not, if she doesn't neglect her oppor-
tunit!es, the peripatetic female secretary
Will be its author Not she who writes to
the dictation of prosaic manor woman
of business, but she whose occupation is
barely one season old and yet has twined
Itself round the roots of the social system
she who serves a society woman or a small
or large group of society women, gong
| from house TO house day after day, for
half an hours OF an hours engagement at
| each TO write invitations to dinner, decline
INVITATIONS to tea, accept place in coun-
Try party making up for next week. ex-
| press regret that engagements interfere
with the pleasure of a scat on the box for
projected coaching party. If anybody liv-
ing understands the ms and outs of the
ma2es that call themselves society, the
female secretary is that one She could
| put her finger on the women who are Strug-
CLING for a foothold and who slip and slip
| again. ) knows the women who have
bought Their way or pushed and crowded
Their way into the outer circles and who
would pay down big sums to advance even
| q step toward the inner penetrala She
could tell you how the ms feel toward the
outs and how the outs reciprocate the love
OIL the ms. She is aware of the regard
which ms cherish toward other ms and of
| tine mutual liking of tho fiercely wrestling
| outs. Does She not sit with immovable
countenance while Mrs. A asks Miss A
Shall we recognize Mrs. Br' Is she not
| to all appearance deaf and blind and dumb
while Mrs. A and Miss A agree that Mrs b
is almost impossible, lays on her rouge too
thlckiy, blackens her eyelids too inartisti-
cally and in spite of her 50, 100000 inherited
/ fVgNgN l,f l.
| OF IL she had not a son, preSentabe young
man now almost grown. write" comes
mandate and she writes, cordially, with
| never hint of the argument that preceded
the command.
Next day IS her morning at Mrs. BIS and
she accepts very graciously the kind inva-
tatlon of Mrs. A, which she had the pleas
ure OF writing tho day before; accepts it
and sits movelpsS as a post while Mrs b
and the two pretty Misses Il denounce the
upstart pride of Mrs. A, whose father was
a small grocer, tut who thinks forsooth
that she is a lady high autocrat of this
round world. 'She thinks she's too good
for the likes of us, but land, your father
could have bought out her husband a half
dozen times, but, for your sakes, dearics,
we'll have to go; write, Mis- and the
prettly worded acceptance is written.
Nobody takes note of her presence, nobody
remembers that she hears, that she presum-
ably reasons, that she might comment
And, to do her justice, she does not COM
ment She goes from brownstone front to
brownstoRe front silent as the grave. If
the polite dechnation was preceded by a
tempest of wrath that such as they should
have presumed to think of dancing, or din
ing, or driving with such us we the secre-
tary never opens its hoodgates outside the
boudoir walls. II the gracious acceptance
was dictated not by personal liking but
grudgingly and protestiDgly for business
reasons originating in Wall street, still tho
secretary is mute as the tomb She is a
queer little sphinx, this secretary, with her
head full Of stories and society in the grip
of her hand lit is amazing how people trust
her, how they summon her pen. her ink,
her paper to their lazy hedsideS before they
dress for their morning drive, how they
talk over half the scandals of the city VITA
their sons, their daughters, or their init
mates before her, and when you come to
think of it what novel she could write.
To get some comparison between the
ideal of a womanS figure as the Greek
sculptors chiselled it and as the modern
dressmaker and cloakmaker regard it one
cannot do better than compare the proper
tions of the Medicean Venus with those of
the professional models who exhibit fine
goods for the sellers at the wholesale and
retail stores. The Venus is feet inches
|
the waist 81 inches about the bust and A
inches about the hips The upper arm
measures 10 inches and the wrist inches
From the base of the skull to the waist is
between IA aud ID inches, and from
shoulder to shoulder is Is inches. Tie APP
proved dimensions for cloak or dress
model as employed in most of the large city
houses do not differ from the Venus greatly
as regards hight. Short women and tail
women are needed in the retail stores, but
wholesale house exhibiting samples to a
| buyer will require a woman of about 5
feet ) to display its choicest goods to ad-
vantage. Her other measurements will be
as follows: Waist; 23 inches, or sometimes
"a inches, bust So inches, or occasionally 81
inches; hip measure from 45 to AZ inches
| upper arm measure, IL inches; distance
from base of skull to waist 1917 inches, and
| from shoulder to shoulder 1917 inches
The modern measure approximates the
Greek measure much more closely than it
would have done twenty years ago. Sixty
years ago there would have been very little
comparison possible between the two.
Where the dressmaking model differs from
| the statuesQue model the iii gergence can be
traced accurately TO the corset shape, which
makes the waist rather smaller, the bust
| and hip considerably larger than they
ought to be. 1t is the corset also which make
the waist too long. Lack of d sufficient
| amount of muscular exercise is responsible
probably for the missing inches in arm
girth and the missing inch and half in
shoulder width. The professional models are,
as a rule, among the most symmetrical
women seen in the city as to measurements
not specified, and in these respects approx
mate the Greek very nearly.
The plans of the Working Womeu's So
cety in pushing their bill for the appoint
ment of a certain number of women
among ths deputy inspectors of factories
for the State are an interesting instance of
the conscientiousness of women in APP
preaching new duties. This bill was not
reached by the Senate before the close of
the Legislative session, but it is regarded as
tolerbly certain of an early passage when
reintroduced next winter, having an infu-
entail backing and very little opposition.
The society desires-and this is an espe-
cal hobby of Miss Ida M. Van Etten, its
leading spirit-that if the bin becomes law
tho women appointed may be practical fac
tory operatives, not philanthropists, or
others from the outside. In case the bill
had gone through this spring the women
who would have been recommended for the
position would have been formed into u
class for the study Of machinery and all
points connected with the safety Of build
ings that they might make Themselves
thoroughly competent in these matters as
we'll as in the departments more especially