Omaha daily bee., 1895-09-08
ISCHL'S ATHLETIC GIRLS.
III Thoroughbred SpOrtswcmen
UpDer Austria.

The Thoroughbred S~pOrtswcmen of
Upper Austria.
Never have l seen sweet Ischl so charm
ing as it is this year. To begin with, won
derful as it may appear to those who know
upper Austria, it hardly ever rains, and one
can enjoy to it's fullest extent the beauty and
peace of this delightful sojourn, writes the
Baroness Wallsee in Vogue.
Since my arrival here / have wished more
than once that American, English, and even
French women, could watch for just a little
while our sportswomen at work. No offense
meant to this trilogyS of lovely beings; but
still, in spite Of the undeniable beauty OF
Uncle Sans daughters, in spite OF the grace
fully athletic department of their English
sisters, and last, but not least, in spite of the
unrivaled Chic and dash" OF Parisiennes,
yet none of them know the secret OF being
Thoroughbred sportswomen and of joining
in the favorite pastimes of their husbands
and brothers without becoming, ipse facto,
either masculine or a little too. too-wel
what shall l call it-emancipated from
those laws of sweet femininity which will
ever remain woman's greatest charm. Now
our great ladies over here carry their love
of nature and of sports of all kinds so far
that it seems to be born in them. During
the summer months they fly away to the
mountains of their own splendid country,
where they climb to the Hottest SUBMITS,
and from whence they descend the most
dangerous ice slopes with the swiftness and
security of practiced mountalneers; they fol-
low the channels on narrow lodges of rock
which would give any other mondaines the
shivers to look at from below; they are as
sure-footed as goats; they row like Oxford
graduates; they shoot, they swim and ride
o, how they do ride! and they smoke cigar
cites by the hundreds, but they do all this
without losing one iota of their grace and of
their winsomeness. No boomers for them!
No costumes or attitudes which make one
hesitate as tc the sex of the being before
one's astonished eyes. A pair of perfectly
fitting knickerbockers worn under a short
tweed skirt, a waistcoat of chamois leather
half concealed by a "Joppe" or gray cloth,
many-pocketed, green-passpoiled jacket, and a
Tyrolese hat adorned with a chamois beard;
tall CATERS of untanned leather and stout
boots. and they are ready for the mountain.
Equally compact are their riding habits for
summer or winter wear, without any frills,
ribbons, or lace collars, and gauntlets such
as l have seen occasionally futtering about
amateur sportswomen who knew no better,
poor. things, but still who ought to have ac-
qDired knowledge from competent people in
order to avoid these mistakes which stamped
them at once for ignoramuses Of the deepest
dye.
remember that during one Of my stays in
London l cnce heard a celebrated English
diplomat say to a country cousin of his:
"My boy, 1t would be better for you to break
the ten commandments than to eat your
green peas with a spoon or to use your knife
when you are partaking of fish," l feel in
clined to alter this wise remark in the fol-
owing fashion for the benefit of any candi-
date whose aim is to enter society by the
right door: Break all the commandments II
your conscience permits you to do so, for,
much to my regret, l am forced to acknowl-
edge that one meets with queer characters
In the highest rank of life. but for mercy's
sake remember this: If a thing deserves to
be done it deserves to be well done, however
Insignificant it may be, and, what is more,
no amount of dash" or "airs'' will ever re-
place the true refinement which permits a
we'll bred woman to encroach upon the do
main Of the sterner sex without in so doing
becoming this horror of all horrors, a virago
-anglice a "new woman"