The Opelousas courier., 1889-06-15
MATRoNs
.hirty the Most Interestipe
In American soeietv-

1ast Thirty the Most Tnteras&,,,.
.r In american Society.
me buds" says Russian, ..are a n;na
aays, wonder, and are much talked ~
1T 'hat space of time. but, # 10 tha
women past thirty who are the most
h~restlng In America They to
rsve the gift of eternal youth, and at
10y are more agreeable looking than
'Aiu women OF any other country
hustan,s observation will surnr,sa
peopie whose sole knowledge of FASH
lonaole society is derived from the
enroniclers of a quarter Or half century
nach' out to the c.nlooker, as well as to
Tue foreign traveller, it is patent tn at
Ihere Is a great physical change in the
american society women as exemnli-
neo In New York. They hold their
age In an astonishing and unprece-
aehted name and seem not to at
Jain the zenith of their beauty till
a point beyond which thew
were once hopelessly passe. Men saw
una the women of to-day are at thirty
nve no older than they formerly were
at twenty-five, and that there is a cor
responding difference all along the
llne; that, consequently, they dress
Younger without incongruity; and that
beyond and above all this they have
learned to grow old with grace, which
mean that they have at least recog-
nlzed that it is futile TO sham youth
and have set themselves to develop
wit, style and other attributes which
are permanent and may grow instead
Of lessening with time.
In the time of our mothers and
grandmothers, if the society chron-
lclers are a guide, a woman was COR
sidered old after twenty-five. If she
did not marry in her first season she
was called a ''re4ic'' and made to feel
IN the way. And there was some
a for the raillery.
Between then and now two things
have happened. Health has become
the fashion, and is sought for passion
ately and successfully. Clear skins,
natural color, firm muscles, bright
eyes and elastic steps are now the order
of thessday, and a woman who was once
as transient as snow has become as
permanent as her husband. That pre-
tension to youthfulness is not now the
common weakness is evidenced by the
fact that the humorous papers, which
once found this the most fruitful sub
lect for jests, have turned their atten-
ton to other foibles. With this change
mems taste regarding women seems to
have altered somewhat. Where once
he admired the beauty of youth alone,
and was satisfied with dumb response
to emotion, he now demands a
great deal more The woman of
to-day must make herself agree
able, not passively. but actively;
she must be brilliant and witty, pos
sessed of tact and able to entertain;
must have the art of dressing, the
knowledge of men, the art of fiatter-
ing, must be in short a women of the
world with the liberal education which
that implies. The day of the doll has
passed away; the debutante is in no
furry to get married and the yearling
pasture is not the wife market it was.
1t might be supposed that women
who keep up a continuous round of
dinners. operas and balls would look
dragged out and weary and old before
their time, but in reality they are in
the most splendid physical condition.
They,are up, it is true, till the small
hours of the morning, drinking cham
payne, dancing conversing and flirting;
but this is their sole occupation, and it
does not begin before -four o'clock in
the afternoon. The remainder of their
time is spent in the pursdlt of health.
After a noon breakfast, theS",drive.
twice a week, to the Turkish ba. rs,
and are steamed, pounded, plungee
and showered, shampooed and mani
cured, and turned out as if new made
from the hand Of God. No other
creature, unless it be thoroughbred
racers, nave Sucn care given 10 tuSlr
bodies as these women whose business
is society. Whatever science and art
have discovered and invented, or nat
ure allotted, to give health and beau
ty. is commanded by them, until it is
now beginning to be said, c%uriously,
that the women are outlastlng the
men.
The society woman depends grestly
on luxurious bathing to renew her
strength. The Turkish bath must In
taken outside the home, but the bath
rooms in some of the wealthy houses
give evidence by their costliness and
beauty of the part they play in the
daily economy.-N. Y. Mail and Ex-
press.