The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-05-31
HER STAYS AND HYSTERIA.
PAINTING NO rove I'm 4 FAD WITH
TF-TO-DITE WOMEN.

y"
we
lhey were pretty Jolly QUARTZ u ivy se
around the restaurant tAnIe' Ihere was one
old man who seemed to De a doctor aweIi-
groomed. middled-nEed inatron' "younG ietow
who looked ast II ho we're just out OF college ana
ayonhT woman VINO said every Ten mihuter'
"lhe year ! Ernduatcu' lhey 'a'heu Hoout
everything md they laughed at everybody, ana
oven tho waiter smiled. or At least MS hxed ex-
prcasioh re'"Scu pcrceptlo'S ~ Some ol tne'f
remarks about the people AT the other ladies'
II wasn't Firth avenue restaurant. 1t wasone
ri those little holes in the wall where everybody
declares he goes tn study everybody else VINO
goes there. And they do " rather audibly. too.
Tho old man. whose friends addressed him
from time to time ma " Doc was telling them
about n hrokcn-down actress who was slowly
slipping that concoction dignifed by the name
of red wine" In cheap table dhote places. He
chucNleh ~ he recalled this, that. or the other
great time spent IN the company Of this woman
in her pnImy days. and his party was much In
tcrestcd. They looked from him TO her as he re-
lated some especially SPICY incident. presently
n gasping sound came from another cor
ner. and the happy four turned to look.
A little woman leaned back in her ohair
unconscious. Her face and lips were c~olorless,
and her escort In his excitement dashed a glass
Of water. ice and all. into her face. 1t brought
her to. Slowly tho muscles of the body ana
face relaxed and the eyes opened. The little
woman got M. shook the Ice from her lap,
wiped her fnce with n napkin. and remarked 40
she resumed eating where she had left of.
"Jhats nothing. ! often Keel over mat way.
No. I don't feel sick. NV appetite has gone,
that's NIL" and she began to talk about some
thing else.
The quartet settled themselves once moro.
THAT was n fake faint. pure and simple" as
serted the young woman.
Certainly" replied the matron. land I
haven't seen one before in several ycors.
Perhaps the poor httie th'ng IS an actress ana
'" aMnmsa Is one e OF oia SsT sts%" .h s' Gos,o- 9Th. wo-
eli Ala loso onrso;onsnoss sho o,,Jor,-
man really ala lose consciousness. she evident.
do her to faint in this iointp Besides. as you
say fainting has entirely gone out OF fashion
among your sex. and I'm heartily glad o fit"
Zone GU, w "a fashion !, anor ~ 0, ,en a , Inc youns
woman. was IL ever the iashioh TOT women
to . fn,nts nv a.,r~ e,or,,os N. doctor
and the matron, and the doctor continued: 1T
was as distinct a fad among women as the I
was about to say the bicycle. but II wasn't that
bad. Any way, it was just as fashionable for
women to faint as 4 Is for them TO wear flower
gardens on their hats to-day"
.. Xyrlr aa,iI . ,,,p,A, fot-t x-bara-n~ .hA
why. ooula = woman am wncneveI .ne
,bs s,ri ~ never famed in NV ne, 7 wouidn's
Inv how 70 on abont II"
WHATS your waist measure" asked the old
man abrunt,v
".n aor.pt,y ,,,.., ..r, ,ou.,-
the proud reply.
.You,l never know what IL IA IN faint " mt
in the up-to-this-time silent young man as he
eyed her waist with an admirinR look.
.Ye.; there was. time when a woman could
faint whenever she took a notion resumed the
doctor. 1T was a form Of ,hysteria and was
something fascinating to the average woman in
losing CONSCIOUSNESS at certain times. she
own room. Nc. indeed. She waited until she
got to the theatre or church, or at a ball or re-
matron.
Certainly, she answered with q good
done her to faint when nobody was aroundf
Ten years ago l was = very skilful fainter. but
/ reserved my power for business purposes.
When my husband refused me anything would
faint. He was afraid Of my heart and that
would fetch him. ! got what I wanted with
out further ad9. WHY; I've seen the funniest
would get Jealous OF another's popularity. and
would get in some picturesque hut conspicuous
course; attract sstsntion oI to nsr. and nine ,im .sS
ioibts shNS NfC Wy HA
given her such a shock that she just couldn't
help It,"
Everybody laughed at this. and the young
man said: But surely all of the women didn't
faintf'
Certainly not" hurriedly spoke up the doc
tor. Neither do all Of the women ride
wheels or wear bushels of blossoms on their
bonneta- IL was only fashionable women who
had nothing to do and took no exercise. Work.
ing women had no time TO get hystertcal. You
take a woman to-day and let her live very high.
take no exercise. get little sleep, and squeeze o
twenty-hve-inch waist into a seventeen or
eighteen inch corset, and In three months
she will be in such a hysterical state
that the slightest thing will upset
her so that she will become lnsensible. Faint
ing did not go out OF style until the wasp waist
had had Its day. A revolution in corsets worked
wonders for women, and 1t is due to two things.
American women to-day display more common
sense In the matter OF dressing than they ever
did before. and they take more interest in phys
ical development l haven't seen q woman
faint before in two years. Common sense i.9
prevailing commodity among the women. old
and young, OF to-day
Tight lActng W as at the bottom OF my faint
ing" volunteered the matrOn, rubbing down