Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-03-31

new dresses that the girls had been get
ting for their spring campaign.
Now. Rosy Posy, what has Sara been
doing to you that you should try TO blacken
her fair name in that way?" asked Louise
1T is what she will not do that is hurt
ing me most. l want a new dress for
Easter, and she says that 1 am not care
full of my clothes and so she will not let
me have another dress until it is time to
put on white Isn't it just awful?"
OF course the girls all declared that
was an unfeeling wretch; and then Rose
in-bloom came over and kissed me and
said she felt that she had been indicated,
and could afford to make up with me.
After nursing my carefully arranged
crimps, with one of her childish hugs, she
went off singing. She is sensible girl,
and is not hard to manage, but l think
sometimes that the love of pretty things
Will be great stumbling block to her If
she is not carefully restrained while she is
young.
Il am afraid that if you were to apply
that kind of discipline to all your girls,
Sara, none of us would appear in Lew
dresses very soon," said Elaine. as she
stirred up the thread and odds and ends in
my work-basket, hunting for needle and
thread to mend rip in the glove that
Nora had been in too big hurry to re-
pair before leaving home. Elaine is the
personifcation of neatness. Her visit has
been one of unalloyed pleasure to US, for
she is so well balanced, men tally, and being
several years older than any of the others,
has had an excellent influence upon them.
She is their oracle.
Indeed, L think it is a shame that Rose
in-bloom should bear the brunt of the bur-
den, when Dorothy is nearly as bad as she
is said Nora, who is Lot much more than
a child herself, and ought to be in school,
instead of society, and she would be, if her
mother was as sensible Mrs. stevenson
is about her daughters. The wife of the
Vice President is decidedly of the opinion
that girls should remain in school until
they have completed their educa ton, be-
education is a broad one, that will take a
girl we'll up into twenty-one or two to ac-
complish. Her own beautiful daughters
are examples of this method. Dorothy gave
Nora a pinch.
For goodness sake don't get Sara start
ed about my shortcomings. We won't get
TO the matinee this afternoon if you do.
she points all her morals and adorns all
her distressed tales with me. l would like
a short rest. if you please"
do you think that girl can be SO ex-
trcmely careful of her clothes when she
has no maid Elaine?' 1t is the one sor-
row of Jennie's life that she cannot have a
maid. She delights to tell that until she
was married her mother had never combed
Il think that it is sin not 10 be care
full, whether one has a maid or not" was
Elaine'S reply. wv hen L was quite young
my mother mad to leave me to look after
my own clothes, and she taught me how
to care for them, that they might be
kept fresh-looking, and L have always tried
to follow her instructions, even since 1
could have a maid to attend to those mat
tiers for me-"
/ 20. Elaine, were you ever very poor?"
asked Louise.
so poor. once upon a time, that my very
best dress was six cent calico for sum-
mer, and a cheap cashmere for winter"
Elaine rather enjoyed the Consideration of
the girls who seemed TO think that she
had been born with gold spoon in her
mouth, because she can eat with them
row, despite the number necessary, If she
so desires.
How beautifully you have meuded it,"
cried Nora, as Elaine tossed the repaired
glove in her lap. Il never can keep my
gloves in presentable shape, some way"
That is because you do not take them
in tine you know the old saying,a stitch"
20, Elaine. don't, If you love me. l dream
| about ripped stitches, and they haunt nv
waking hours. Do be good and give us
some practical hints on how to take care
what you say"
Just the thing. isn't it. girls?" asked
Louise. we have an hour before the
matinee Proceed; Madame Mentor"
Elaine protested in vain. why, girls. I
spent over an hour lecturmg you last Sat
urday and
And have been thinking about it all
weak, and trying to cultivate my SOUL" ex-
claimed Louise. And /, and l." said Mary
and Bobbie.
We'll, it is a comfort to know that the
seed did not fall on stony ground" return
ed Elaine, laughingly. But 1 trust that
you do not expect me to exhaust the SUBJ
Ject in one short hour?'
Indeed, no." asserted Louise emphatic
ally. we Will just mark it, Continued on
n 10y m n a l.
six more interested girls never posed he
lore pubic speaker. There were seven be-
fore the lecture ended, for Rose-in-bloom
came back, and l was glad that she did
Tor Elaine told the girls some extremely
practical things.
The Abuse of Clothes.
In the frst place, girls, it is the abuse
of clothes, and not the use of them. that
makes them look rusty and tacky before
their tlme Now about dresses When Won
come home from an afternoon of calling
you are tired, and you want to get into
something easy to rest for few moments
before dinner. You go to your closet and
pull out your dressing sack, and a dress
skirt comes down with it; you pick the
SKIRT up and toss it back. Perhaps it goes
on the floor, and, more than likely it falls
in a heap wherever it lands. You step out
OF the dress you had on, and throw ii over
chair, and the bodice, all damp with per-
sPli dllOu anu the DOuy OQOr, tnat Will cling
to every garment that you wear, is flung in
wad on the dressing case. You often
leave it there till morning, by which time
two more dresses have been added to the
pile to be hung up, the one you wore down
to dinner and the one you wore out in the
evening. Your street dress which is of
heavy material, is creased in long wrinkles
across the front, the stiffening is broken 1t
is full of dust and ii smells badly Your
evening and dinner dresses are in VARYING
stages or muSsinesS, as you may have toss ed
them aside. Half a dozen times wearing
these three dresses will ruin them for cere.
monious occasions, unless you want a man
to be saying Of you that you are badly
'groomed.' If you were careful to clean
them properly, and hang them I'D as they
should be hung, they would last YOU a
whole season, and at the end look almost a
good as new, If you have selected the mate
rial with care Now let me tell you how T
was taught to care for my gowns by a
French maid that had when 1 was abroad
This woman had been the possessor of
handsome clothes herself once and knew
the art of caring for them. She got wire
frames for my gown skirts, just as men
have for their coats. When / came home
from calling and shopping she took nv
heavy cloth dress skirt and carefully shook
It, Then she brushed all the trimmings re-
moving every particle of dust If she found
that there was the slightest rip in the bind
ing, or a bit of torn trimming, she mended
1t before the dress was put out of her
hands. On each one of the wire frames
and L had one for Zach of my gowns-She
hung pad of viol0 powder, and when She
slipped the dress skirt on the frame the bag
hung in the center and kept my dresses
1 lIlf liz