Los Angeles herald., 1892-04-12
THE SOCIETY GIRL DURING LENT

AAoW INC Uay fOunS IhihS 4'A@@5So ~
Occupy Herself without Dancing.
The amount of rest and refreshment
the average girl gets this Lent is aminus
quantity. She works harder than she
has done all the winter, and that, all
scoffers to the contrary, is harder than
any servant in her parents house. The
Lenten girl is of two orders-the deeply
religious and the fashionably devotional.
The first one carries in her pocketbook a
tiny lavender card with purple crosses
and stars all over it, and bearing list
of services in her favorite church. On
no day are there less than two; she sings
at one of them, and stays after the other
to opractice Gregorian chants for the next
day. She attends Dorcas society every
Saturday and takes home SIX garments
to make in the course of the week, and
she makes them herself, too, faithfully
and laboriously.
She spends an hour in devotional read
ing and two poring over history or BIZ
ography every day. She attends a
Shakespeare class twice a week and
goes as often to hear some well read
woman elucidate state and national
politics to party of girls. No one stays
to lunch after these mornings; that
would be frivolous, and besides there is
Just time to run into the dressmaker's
to have fitting before afternoon serv-
ice. The dressmaker provides a cup of
tea and a biscuit, and after eating this
very substantial meal the girl walks to
church and puts her car fare in the poor
box. Then she visits worthy widow
away over on the East side, carries her
relief and promises of work and comes
home to spend an hour in hysterical cry
ing over the misery she saw.
She only receives her men friends one
evening a week, and then converses
gravely and sedately, clad in dove col
ored gown turned in mite at the
throat, with tulle folded around it. She
does not accept candy or flowers, and
always gets up an hour before break
fast, dragging her reluctant younger
brothers and sisters out of bed so that
she may help them in their lessons, which
she does after an entirely different
method from that employed by their
governess, and consequently bewilders
the poor little mortals more than she
helps them. She goes regularly to the
Turkish bath and the manicure, the
Delsarte class and the riding school
She teaches in a mission sewing class
and charity kindergarten. Then there
are rehearsals for private theatricals
and for the weddings at which she is to be
bridesmaid in Easter week. The gloves
and shoes she will wear are to be made
Of a peculiar style and color, which ne
cessitates one or two trips way over to
a little manufacturer on the west side,
where she gets her sympathy aroused
over an abandoned baby, and spends a
week and all her dress money getting it
into home.
Of course she has to go to lectures and
matinee now and then or she would
die. The fashionably devotional girl
does nearly all these things, only she
walks on Fifth avenue in black gown
and severe hat, carrying prayer book
and wearing a bunch of violets. She
goes out of town after service Friday
and stays over Saturday with a married
friend in the country, where high revel
is held with the aid of sleighing parties
and banjos till the last train Saturday
night. Brother Tom meets her at the
station and tells her that his friend
Harry and her friend Lou are cooking
oysters in chatting dish at Louis house.
But she is at early service on Sunday.
After three weeks of this she goes
south and has a lovely time, for Lent is
not kept when one is away from home,
and besides it would be an extravaganza
not to wear all her evening gowns once
or twice more before letting them go.
But with all the frivolity and girlish
hypocrisy of it there is a lot Of good
earnest work done by the society girl in
Lent. She helps others and herself to
better things, and everything counts,
even if it is only showing Cousin Fred
how womanly and sweet she looks in
the little gray gown with her hands full