Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-01-19
T H E PLAIN G R L
How to Succeed if Neither Rich Nor Beau
tiful
The Art and the Importance of Max
ing Friends In the Case OF
Debutante.

From the St. Louis Republic.
| Let the homely girl, who is just begin
ming her first season, make up her mind
early in the winter as to what set she
| means to be in. There is no place so large
or so small that people of like tastes in So
| ciety do not tend to congregate and seek
each others company. Everywhere one Is
sure to find the fast set and the serious
| set, the musical. the literary. the reiis-
| ious and the athletic sets; and however
| she may make up her mind beforehand to
| keep clear of cliQues, she is sure to ind,
sooner later that she has, by natural
affinity, selected her special friends from
| some one of these sets.
But there is wide difference between
| choosing friends among sympathetic peo-
| pie and giving oneself over to very mar
| row range of acquaintances and ignoring
| the possibilities of amusement or benefit
| to be found outside small clique. Nat
| urally, the plain girl with a nice singing
| voice, or the enc who loves her piano, Is
| going to be inclined to chum with the
other girls who like to go to the concerts,
| and naturally she would rather accept in
vitations to houses where her talents count
for something, and she is likely to meet
the great musicians as fellow-glests, but
she will make great error II sne ldenti-
| flies herself SO exclusively with the muSl-
clans that when q party is being made up
to go and hear a popular lecture ana come
back to little supper afferward, where
there is lot of clever talk and run. she
| is left out heca use the people with literary
| tastes think she cares only for music Ana
though she may be a girl with serious re-
| ligious views and anxious to be of use IN
| the Sunday school or interested IN some
| of the city missions, it is a pity to be so
| absorbed in being of use to others that she
| loses all sight of the uses of her own
youth. and to get left out of all the lnno-
| cent larks and fun of the other girls be-
| cause they think shes so deadly pious
| and grave
Great Temptation.
| To the ordinary looking debutante, who
| is full of health and high spirits. and eager
| for pIeasure-as, thank heaven, the aver
| age girl is-the greatest temptation of all
! is to join this fast set; the set whose only
| pursuit and interest is pleasure, and,
| therefore, seems to her ignorant little eyes
to have the best time Of any Of them.
She sees mamma shake her head when
the names of some of the leaders in that
set are mentioned, but when she meets
| them for herself, they seem to her to be
only more than usually jolly and kind. and
not at all different in behavior from girls
whom mamma approves Of and the men OF
that set are livelier and dance well and say
1 SAiS
| Jumps at the conclusion that the fast set
| are quite as nice as anybody and much
| more amusing.
| After awhile she hears them say, and
| sees them do some little thing that shocks
her rather, but they are so good-tempered
| and cheerful about it that she hesitates to
| take ofIense at 1t, and day by day she sees
and hears and gradually grows accustomed
to things that would have shocked her
| terribly at first mad she known them all at
once Day by day she grows to mot mind
coarse jokes and vulgar deeds, and from
thinking they are no harm she simply
| passes into initiating their behavior; the
| decline in her delicacy and modesty being
SO gradual that she does not perceive now
far she has gone. She would be horrifled
and disguised with girl whose finger
nails were black or her body foul and
| dirty, but she has lost the power to per-
ceive that black mind and foul tongue
| and imagination are infinitely more loath-
some
Another set that the wise Sweet-minded
| young debutante will keep out of is the idle
set who find their only amusements In the
feeblest of novels and the SATURDAY mat
| inees. Who Till their empty hours with
furious admiration of actresses and sing
ers, who know and care nothing for Such
| Anticipated admirers. This Is the set that
are always knocking about the streets,
taking hours for the smallest bit of shop
| ping, dwelling forever upon idle gossip,
priding themselves upon their slang and
spelling their Questions with a continued
diet of sweets.
The girl who let's herself drift into this
set will infallibly find herself Influenced by
1t in time, and acquiring all their languid
habits. while the clever girls and the attn
letic girls gradually get in the habit of
leaving her out of their pleaSantest amuse-
ments, because her body is so feeble and
her mind so duh that she can contribute
nothing to the general pleasure.
ConauerinE circumstances.
Every girl beginning her first season
should take stock OF herself carefully. A
pretty girl, or rich girl, or a witty girl, is
likely to be much in demand, but the girl
who is not pretty has a somewhat harder
task before her to make her season pleas
ant and successful
For one thing. she should realize that
while beautiful debutantes can afford to
be little careless in dress and still look
attractive, it behooves her to be always
a very pink of perfection in all matters OF
toilet, since there is certain beauty and
charm in absolute neatness which every
one unconsciOusy feels. Her hair should
always be beautifully done, her nails per-
fectly manicured, and every pin, pleat and
! ribbon exactly in place Whatever gift she
may have should be carefully cultivated
and developed to it's highest degree. 1t is
not always the beauties who are the best
| partners on the ball room floor, or the
best musicians, or horsewomen, or gol1
players; and wherever such accomplish.
mentS count the beauty may nave TO give
place to the girl who knows how to dc
something well.
A clever, witty girl finds most things
plain sailing. but girl without such gifts
can charm almost as much with sweet
temper and careful courtesy, and cheerful
willingness to be of use to other people.
The rich girl, too, can, without much
difficulty, command a following, but the
poor girl has a harder time. Yet the poor
girl who shows no envy, who takes hel
deprivations cheerfully, is not always
standing upon her dignity, and knows the
art OF being a charming guest and &C
cepting gracefully and gratefully many
favors she cannot return, is in a fair way
to do away with many of the disadvan
tages OF circumstances. This sort of cir
never places herself in rivalry with those
better or than herself in matters of OK
pense. She makes no attempt to initiate
with cotton velvets and cheap furs. OF
| Imitation Jewels the beauties of the toilets
of the richer girls. She makes herself con
tent with the single daintinesses within
her means, and when she entertains, make.
her hospitable good will and merrimen
! take the place of costly dishes or expensive
| flowers.
The First DOyley.