The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1892-02-26
HOW GIRLS SHOULD WALK
A Short Lecture On the
Subject of Physical
Culture.
EVENTS THAT INTEREST SOCIETY.
Notable Weddings of the Week
Theatricals, Receptions and
Other Affairs.
EVENTS THAT INTEREST SOCIETY.

Especially Dr;tten for the JERSEY Ctr Ne'Ts-
"Do you know how to walk?"
Not on~e-twentieth of the girls of Jerse.
City could answer Eyes" to that question
with q clear conscience. For weeks pas
this column has been filled with the ex
c~ellencies of Jersey City girls, and ia
from ~exhausting the subject, the write
feels that her task has but just begun
but at this moment she feels impelled Il
draw breath aud declare, more in sorrow
than in anger, that however much tn
Jersey City girl may fknow-and it's
| great deal-she does not know how t.
walk.
Now If you don't believe it. gentle
reader. just take your station on Berger
avenue some fine afternoon, or JERSEY
avenue oil Sundays, when churches anc
Sunday schools are just out" and water
the maidens passing before you. a
least nine out of ten young women have
a sort of wobble in their gait which may
be intended to represent feminine help
lessness-at least that's the only possible
excuse l see. The girl of less
than average height, with a gown
that trails ON all sides, is usually a victim
IL buIS lhptt. DIG 10 alHH1 '
divided in mind whether to rush on mad
ly or sit down on the sidewalk. Her
hands nre always occupied with multi or
side pockets, but hsr elbows wriggle ag-
gressively, her head hobs backward at
every step. aud she progresses by a sort OF
Irregular writhing motion that would
suggest a snake if it were not so much
like a timid yearling. Exactly how she
produces this contorrion Is a mystery, but
she does suggest one, of those manikins
suspended from a music box that wr1ggle
madly when the music plays.
II GIRL WITH HEELS
Then there is the girl who walks on
sort of "k-klup." "k-klup," sound that is
calculated to rack the nerves. Perhaps
she doesn't know that this practice jars
her spine, and perhaps she doesn't care II
it does, but it spoils her gait just the
same.
If you stride, or plunge, or hop. or do
anything else but walk with the grace OF
seasons are not for you. When You tried
on your pretty bell skirt. it hung" SO
well because o stood stilD and you
Thought you would be q picture on prom
enade. but as you haven't eyesin the back
of your head, o can't see that train
wildly whisking to and fro as you pursue
your favorite gait,-perhaps the popular
one with elbows out and head leading,
while you hurl yourself at curbstones as II
you were ascending the Pyramids.
AN OBJECT LESSON.
There was n certain teacher OF physical
culture whose abiding place is in another
town, who stood on Bergen avenue, re-
Gently. and spoke these words of Wis
dom,-"When your gown lifts at the side
with every step, there is something
wrong with your gait and your frock
might as we'll be made of calico.
IF your coat collar be too high in the
back, lower it. but don't tilt your head
forward.
"A free born American citizeness should
have spirit enough TO lift her feet.
step On the ball of the foot. not the toe,
like a bal!et-dancer. nor the heel, for that
makes your foot look three inches longer.
but where nature put a pliable cushion
for your use."
Just why IL city should possess so few
young ladies' with the tread of goddesses.
remains a mystery. 1t is not so in New
York, certainly not in Brooklyn; aud
even Boston girls, with their tendency to
stride, know enough to lift their feet.
Now why is it that our girls make such a
poor showing on promenade, reserving
their graceful motions for the ball room
alonef