St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-02-14

young belle who was reading an item
about female cigarette fiends the other
day. She was extremely indignant.
''Ot course. most of us smoke little,
but have never used more than one
package day. And / do not know
any woman who doesr' she affirmed
angrily. A package! That may mean
either ten or twenty. With her think
it meant the latter.
There is little Turkish shop on up
per Broadway not far from the Sturte-
want house where the society girl goes
for her cigarettes. They are about as
like the ordinary cigarette smoked by
the small boy with such gusto as one of
"DePs" chicken fricandeauS is like the
chicken fricaSsee as prepared by the
frugal country housewife. They are
cigarettes localized, perfumed with
delicate odOr of roSeeaves and whisper
it not Notwithstanding a little opium,
it is said.
The genuine Turkish cigarette always
does, and these are the highest grade.
such as are smoked by the beauties OF
the wealthiest seragIios. Expensive?
Well, rather. One must always pay
high for luXuries, and these are the very
best that can be bought.
The tobacco is often purchased by the
fair connoisSeur who has Il fancy for
rolling her own cigarettes. The little
book Of rice paper leaves, the exquisite
cigarette case of carved silver, the EN-
broidered bag for Turkish tobacco. and
the little match box and ash tray is a
layout owned by at least two-thirds OF
of the women in the fashionable fast
set. i do rot mean by this women at
whom society looks aSkance, but the
typical fashionable woman of the day,
VA, af har oh h,, iSI- OF por13t M
Il "Gebby," as the languid youths of the
clubs are fond of abbreviating.
The girl who affects the Spanish when
her ''clgarito' is burning near to its end
and endangering her pretty finger-tips,
removes one of her little tortoiSe-Shell
hair pins from her treSSeS, deftly holds
the cigarette in it la tweeZers, and SO
smokes it up to the point where it is
likely to scar her rosy lips. There is an
unwritten law that. while the married
women may smoke in the company of
men, the jeune file must only indulge
in 1.-The Weed' among those of her own
sex. The mice grip smokes, but never
in the presence of men. She often pos
sesses a little quilted smoking Jacket
and sticks red Turkish fez on her
curly head, before she settles down
comfortably for a twilight gossip with
her chum. with the fragrant WhrlS of
smoke making the room blue.
Let US attack the cigarette in its real
points of weakness, but let us not be
false to ourselves and pretend that we
think woman looks ugly and mascu-
line when she smokes one. She does
not. She looks pretty. coquettish
and bewitchiug if she knows how
ing degrading effect, or making
woman masculine, one might as well
claim that the jaunty, mannish blazer
and Shirt-WaiSt have that effect
do not believe in tobacco for women,
but 1t is all nonsense to pretend that
girl with cigarette in her lips is
repulsive and shocking sight. | do
hot, as | said, believe in the
habit for women, because it is
bad for their nerves; because it parches
and dries the delicate skin of the lips,
which should be fresh and rosy in a
woman; because the Odor is unpleasant
clinging to woman's skin or hair, but
mainly because the habit is excessively
bad for the health.
believe in fighting things frankly.
If you tell woman she is a shocking
Sight merely because she has a little
paper roll of tobacco in her mouth, she
will pay very little attention, because
she knows it is not true.
But she does know by experience how
badly it does make her mouth and throat
feel. and how she pays for the mement-
airy soothing effect afterwards by irri-
tated nerves, and when you dwell on j
these points, you score one.
But 10 pretend that the New York So
ciety woman does not smoke is to argue
that you know nothing about her. And
l would like to wager that when you
begin lecturing her. her first reply will
be: 1.-The Princess of Wales does it,"
And it is quite true-one of the few
truths among the many absurd tales of
the beautiful Alexandra. But then,
ones throat and lips get parched and
ones nerves worn to tiddle-strings just
the same as il she did not.