The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1894-05-29

used to have in our
small villages at home At home is in
dear old star and stripe country. Natu-
rally I sit and long for the sights of a
piled up dish of yellow soda biscuit and
freshly churned butter and honey, or,
better still, maple strip, and I think
with dim eyes and yearning heart of the
delicious Clipped beef, the ounce pre-
serves and the many kinds of sweet cake
that used to grace those blessed and.
abundant tables, for I am in pension
in Paris striving to perfect myself"
as Mrs. Fandy used to say. If the seeing
of beautiful things and the dragging of
my weary self through round of weary
duties in search of the picturesquelike
DR.. Syntax are what is needful to that
perfecting process, then / am ON the
highroad to perfection.
In the morning get my regular little
rolls, two of them, and a cup of coffee
or chocolate, my sixteenth of a pint of
boiling milk and three Jumps of sugar
for breakfast. Two of those Jumps are
the regular size, and the other one has
a suspicious appearance of having been
chopped in two. Just SO does the French
VI
posed of, my calorifere is arranged, and
/ begin the laborious task of perfect
ing myself anew while half frozen and
half suffocated by the close atmosphere,
for Frenchwoman fears fresh air as
she would blizzard, and room with
French girl. So turn to the members
of the household for ideas in economy
in dress, for this perfecting process makes
thrift virtue.
/ find that for morning not only the
ladies of our household, but those of all
Paris, wear first plain loose wrapper
for their petit leve, as they call it. In
this they comb their hair and take their
sumptuous breakfast, which is exactly
like that described above, every day in
the year. Then they put on a plain dark
gown, trinity made and closely fitting,
and generally an apron of goodly di-
mansions is added, for the Frenchwom-
an is above all thrifty and attends with
household, often busting her parlor her.
self or making some delicate dish for
dessert for the dinner. I think I may
say that all women who have homes
dress in this manner during the fore
noon. No Frenchwoman is supposed to
be out of bed before o'clock. By this
time her breakfast proper is over. It is
really dinner, only it is called break
fast for short, think, as could never
find any other reason for it.
Dejeuner over, the French lady, from
highest to lowest, puts ON pretty gown
and sits down to sew Oh chat with her
friends if they are told that the lady is
visible. On these occasions they wear
as pretty a gown as their purses can
buy. 1t is according to the season-silk
or challie, crepOn or some of the light
woolens that are now so fashionable. I
have often noticed that countess or a
duchess may even feel thrifty enough to
have her street gowns remodeled for the
home and the faded or worn spots deft-
~ hidden with lace or other trimming.
It is quite remarkable how long good
gown is made to do duty among these
French ladies, who have the name of
being the best dressed women in the
world. I have studied them well since
have been here and feel sure that it is
more because of their innate knowledge
or their study of the fitness of things
that gives them this name and fame,
for know many American ladies who
spend five times as much ON their ward
robe as the noble ladies of France and
never look half as we'll dressed
When a French lady goes out to walk,
she almost invariably wears very mod
est but always perfect costume. She new
er makes display of grande toilette
while walking or shopping. Cab hire is
too cheap for much walking anyhow,
and everybody that is anybody has her
own carriage. Still a Frenchwoman
cannot look otherwise than well dressed.
Two ladies of different types who live
almost across the street, the sister and
daughter of one of the deputies, take
brisk walk every afternoon in search of
health and beauty. The sister Is tiny
mite of a woman and rather affects Eng
ish styles. This spring have seen her
daily and always neatly and becom-
ingly attired. Today she wore a suit Of
Scotch Shepherds plaid in delicate
heather colors. The skirt was slashed in
front and slightly draped up, the bias
figure of the SKIRT showing, with good
effect, inserts of the plaid set on the
straight. Two bands of dark heliotrope
velvet held the slashes up in draped
folds. The coat was cutaway, showing
first a heliotrope velvet vest, with an
inner vest and cravat bow of lace. The
jacket had plaid revers and very full
skirt She wore pert little gray straw
hat, with cream ostrich and osprey tips
and fancy ornament of amethysts.
The daughter is tail, slender and dark,
with magnificent eyes. She walks along
in stately and disnifed manner and
wears dark brown italian cheviot,
which is new and very popular fabric
with hairy surface The skirt was laid
In several kilt plaits in front and was
smooth on the sides to fall again into