The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1893-02-04

|
! BY Society Girl.
1 am down deep in the slough OF de-
spond, all covered with the mire of doubt
and all because l pinned my faith on the
| adYiceS given to acquire beauty in the
| periodicals Of the day.
| Now, as everybody knows. there isn't
a ghost Of a chance for girl nowadays
unless she makes some pretense to
| beauty. Now, I've always been discour-
aged about myself when | looked i'm the
mirror, and like the donkey who longed
| TO be king, while | aspired 10 greatness
land beauty, l was much given TO melan-
choly doubts as to the way to acquire IL.
One day picked up a paper and found
an article on How TO BE Beautiful" Ii
looked sensible and | read it, and as the
writer calmly and deliberately stated
that beauty was acquired more often than
inherited and that every woman with
proper respect for her person could be
beautiful my heretofore dropping and
melancholy spirits began 10 rise faster
than thermometer with the summer sun
shining on it, and | went into an ecstacy
Of delight and capered about the apart
ment like a Comanche Indian.
| too. would be beautiful, Like many
of my sisters, I was in the chrysalis state
and in few weeks | would awake from
among my creams and lotions, a butter
fly Of beauty.
/ bought a scrap-book. | pasted that
article carefully in and | searched the
papers for others till was dizzy. These
l also clipped and pasted
The only thing that really troubled me
was the multiplicity Of the prescriptions.
However | was sanguine. / would try
them all. OF course il was somewhat
perpleXing TO have one writer say, Use
nothing but cold water" another, "Use
only boiling hot water" another, luke
warm" and another none at ALL" but |
overcame these difficulties by obeying
all systematically.
After spending one-half OF my allow
ance and a great deal Of time com
pounding various prescriptions, which
had determined to try, I started out In
earnest to make this wonderful trans
formation OF myself having all the time
perfect faith in the fOrmuae given
I spent an hour a day rubbing wrinkles
q haven't any, but it was a preventive.
l steamed my face another half-hour.
Another hour went to brushing, combng
and curling an unruly head of froWzy
hair
nearly tired myself completely by taxi
ing long walks TO brighten my eyes and
COiOE my CHECKS WITH the rue Oh llfe rose.
trotted around my room half an hour
at a time. balancing a book on my head
so as TO cultivate a correct poise OF that
member.
/ tried all sorts of contortions and gyra-
tions to make me supple-printed direc-
lions ALWAYS followed. Of course. Then
/ took TO studying Delsarte with a vim.
in order to become graceful. l twisted
my fingers, twisted my wrists. my arms.
my neck and my body, till l began TO feel
like the misunderstanding would twist
him a twist"
Freckles were my bette noir, so turned
most particular attention 10 'infalli5le
remedies" for these kisses OF Apollo. I
made lot of stuff and the more ! used
he more freckles had. Then / got mad.
ard one night | took all the different |
'reckle lotions / had compounded put |
them all in one big bottle, shook and |
applied, thinking / would arise In the |
fair as lily"
Well. / didn't. / more resemblel that |
Drosaic vegetable, the beet. The freckles |
we're gone. but so was the skin, In patches. /
md looked like boiled lobster. I really |
wouldn't have minded the terrible smart
ng sensation OF my face II / hadn't |
o oked so bad that I had TO stay home |
rom the SWEETEST reception OF the season.
md then, too, / nearly lost my incest /
Idmirer by refusing TO see him.
Well, It took a whole week to get my
ace back TO its normal condition, and
W that time all my childike faith In
rticles on beapty had deserted me and
have become almost misanthropic, i
ave tied up the scrap-book with a ribbon
nd put 1t with the bottles into neat
title tox and now I'm waiting 10 find
he address OF some author OF beauty
rticles" that may present them TO her.
'hicago Inter-Ocean.