, 1890-10-03

the Iron Masks, my head positively
whirls. Tho worst of it was that the
Hading wells were becoming TO nobody,
not even to the fair Jeanne herself.
They were a h~istrionic fad and nothing
more.
Perhaps no artist who has achieved
fame on the stage has given so many
varied and continued hints TO women Of
fashion as Sara Bernhardt. Her original
genius has betrayed itself in a thousand
ways from the minutest shade Of facial
expression to the tip of n new tangled
slipper. Throughout the civilized world
has this extraordinary woman been
awarded the intense lattery Of imitation
by her sister women She has for years
been the cynosure of all eyes; the despair
of the graceless, the admiration of the
beautiful. She has shown women the
superiority of mere dress over mere
beauty. II is to her that fashion is in
debted for the long wrinkled mousque-
taire gloves, the full plastrons of lace
and ribbon, the ruffled gabots and other
paraphernalia devised expressly with the
object Of %concealing angles hat should
have been rounded curves. All the
modes, in short, which by some strange
" illogical sequence nave since become
apparently the exclusive property of the
genus fat woman sprang from the divine
Sara
Adelina Patti, who makes the preser-
walton Of her complexion as much n life
study as the preservation Of her voice,
has by afixing her signature to sundry
skin beautifiers done more to assure
their sale and ready adoption by fash
ionable women than could have been
obtained by twice the amount Of ordinary
advertising.
When Mile. Aimee began her career in
this country the exquisite texture and
the artistic design of her silken stockings
became a topic of conversation every
where. Shops were ~ransacked, orders
were given, and eventually silk stockings
of the most extraordinary styles were
given a boom such as, | will venture to
say. they never had before. and possibly
may never have again. There is one
fashion in vogue which originated with
a successful actor, Mr.. Dixey. 1t was
he who introduced the buckled shoes
now worn by all our bellies, and having
done this, II seems TO me, he Is entitled
to share a portion Of the honor formerly
enjoyed by the deceased Mr.. Montague,
the inventor of the famous "Montagu
curls."
/ recollect well the blonde craze in
spired years ago by Christine Nilsson.
The white skin and pale hair Of the
Swedish singer turned the brains of half
the population. 1t was the day of the
blonde. She reigned supreme until the
auburn haired lady dethroned her The
auburn haired lady rules still
1t is part of an actress business to look
we'll She must not only be dressed
to perfection, but she must have an ire
p~roachable complexion and n good fig
ure. Fancy a Juliet with a red nose or
pimples. Imagine Camille with badly
fitting corsets. Who would sympathize
with the woes of any stage heroine who
had n mustache?
The actress, knowing all this, is par
ticularly careful to take care Of herself.
She leads rs regular a life MS she can
outside of her professional duties; she
bathes and diets aud conforms to the
laws Of hygiene. Consequently she is
often younger and prettier than the so
ciety miss who keeps late hours and in
dulges in every sort Of irregularity.
There is an art of living as well as an
art of dressing, and it must be conceded
that the actress, generally speaking,
understands both 10 perfection.
CLARA LAMA