The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-11-19
WOMEN WHO KEEP SECRETS
They Are Secretaries to Ladies Of the
-Four Hundred.

CTat1Ve ana ElSaSdnL employment
New Field-What the Duties Con-
sist of-Soms Secretaries Are OBJ
hged to Initiate Their Employers
Handwriting.
From the New York Herald.
Some few years ago I was hearing let
ter read aloud from an English woman Of
rank. who has since died. In it she said
that. while her life was very happy one
in most respects, that she was blessed
with a very large share of this world S
goods, and had very few cares or worries,
still she could not help envy the women
of lower class in life, who were able to
have what her position seemed to deny
her, and that was close, intimate, person
al friendships with other women.
A discussion then began as to why peO-
pie, even in the higher ranks, did not
keep up their friendships after they were
married and the unanimous verdict of all
the women present was that such thing
was an impossibility, the reason being,
there was no time, the incessant demands
upon ones brain and ones hand in an
swering the thousand and one invitations,
business notes and formal letters utterly
precluding the writing and visiting with
those who were very near and dear.
ALosT ART.
A great deal is said about how letter
writing is a lost art, and lovers Of bygone
days take great pleasure and pride in
pointing to the numberless epistles writ
ten in the past generation and then con
trasting them with the little scrappy
notes scrawled in the very illegible hand
writing of to-day
Within the last few years the utter i'm
possibility of any society women attempt
ing to keep up her own correspondence
has been thoroughly proved, and of all
the fields of employment open to women
that of private secretary Is most desira-
bic and one of the most remunerative. II
is post which requires business ability,
great tact, a clear handwriting and a
thorough knowledge of composition. The
schools and colleges are beginning to real
ize how important it is to train women to
fill these very positions for every year
sees the demand increasing.
Some women require that their secre-
taries shall write a hand precisely like
their own, so that notes of a most init
mate character can be answered by the
secretary without giving offense, as would
probably be the case should the receiver
of the note for an instant fancy that any
one than the person to whom the letter
had been sent had answered it.
DIFFICULT ACCOMPLISHMENT.
MISS A1IdCt DOuEG, WllOSG correspond
ence is probably one of the largest of any
womans in the city. has employed for
several years young woman whose hand
writing is identicaly the same as her
own. She says that she trained her to
write in this way, and it would be very
ditficult to decide, were two letters to be
placed side by SIDE, which was Miss
Dodge's and which was her secretary's.
OF course this position requires the
most absolute trust, for the secretary is
OF, necessity intrusted with the most init
mate affairs of her employer. The world
has certainly changed since the time
when it was generally believed and uni
versally stated that no woman could keep
a secret, for many are the cases in this
city where another person has charge of
my lady's private affairs, and never has
there been known a time as yet when
such confidence has been abused. ..t
The duties of a secretary are manifold,
and require considerable knowledge of
society and its requirements. She must
know to whom cards should be sent must
keep up visiting list and be sure when
invitations for receptions and dances are
sent out that none of the dead friends are
invited, In some places the secretary has |
charge of the household affairs rs well |
This is rather encroaching on the duties
of a housekeeper and never works we'll
MRS. vANDERBuT's SECRETARY.
Miss De Barril, who for the last two
years has been Mrs. Fred Vauderbilt's
secretary, is well known in all social life
She is a tall, handsome girl, who was
brought up to lead life of luxury When
reverses came TO the family a few years
since she decided that this position was
one for which she was especially fitted.
and she chose Mrs. Fred Nanderbilt's out
of the several that was offered her Miss
De Barril writes very striking hand
and comp0ses an excellent business letter |
as well as the more airy, light note which
is demanded by society. She signs her
self IN. De Barril for l.. Vanderbilt"
Mrs. Vanderbilt leaves the entire
charge of everything to Miss De Barril. |
whose duties begin a t a reasonably early
hour in the morning. When she goes to !
Mrs. Vanderbilt's house she looks over
ali the letters that have arrived
answers those she can answer without re
ferring TO Mrs Vanderbilt, sends cards
acknowledging receipts of invitations,
and then, aster consultation, writes, if
necessary, the invitations for any dinners
or entertainments that are to be given
She attends also to the paying of all the
bills writing out of the checks, and, as
she is remarkable business woman. Mrs
Vanderbilt's accounts are kept in a way
to do credit to any man. While these two
women have for some time been intimate
friends, Miss DeBarril always preserves
a strict business attitude while attending
10 her duties, and it is due to her unfail-
ing regularity and methodical habits that
she has made the success for which she
deserves credit.
MRS STEVENS HAS SEVERAL.
Mrs. Paran Stevens does not employ
any regular secretary, but there are two
or three women whom she knows are
striving to add to scanty incomes, and on
these she calls whenever she wishes any
amount of work done Her private notes
she writes herself in her peculiar, strik-
ing handwriting, which once seen is very
rarely forgotten.
Mrs. Arthur Dodge was one of the first
women in society to employ a secretary
but for years she has done So and in no
ether way could she possibly have gotten
through with the amount of writing
which she has to do. Mrs. Dodge is one of
the most charitable women in New York,
and takes a personal interest in the num-
berless enterprises in which she is inter
ested. Then, too, she has very large
circle of friends and friendly acquaint-
ances, so that her mail every day would
be quite overwhelming to any woman
who attends, as she does. to her house
hold duties, the care of all her little chill
drcn and her social claims as well.
oNpROr-- Dr-TTFs