The San Francisco call., 1896-04-29
Mrs. Mabel Jenness Venter
Absolutely Interdicts
Their Use.
AN INTERESTING DIsoU1s1TIoN.
!" What Holds Me Straight? My Bones,
of Course! That Is What They
Were Made For"

"As correct carriage is the basis of all
physical perfection, / shall begin my lee
ture this afternoon by describing correct
method of carrying the body"
Such were the Introductory words of
Mrs. Mabel Jenness Venter in her lecture
on "Artisric Dress and the Vulgarisms We
See in Society,"" delivered at the Colum bia
Theater yesterday. The lady had just
made her entry upon the stage in morn
ing dress, and waited for the ripple of ap-
proval that disturbed the calm of her
feminine audience to subside ere she spoke.
"Now,n she continued, "the method of
standing with the spine stiffened is not
only detrimental to the health. but it is
undignified, uncomfortable and ungrace-
full. The proper method is to stand with
the weight upon the ball of the foot and
the chest well expanded. This throws the
BODY into a natural position, but it is not
so easy as it looks"
The next point discussed by the lecturer
was the art of walking, for she classed it as
such. In illustrating the improper ways
of walking the lady proved SO thorough
mimic that the audience was kept con-
stantly convulsed.
.There. George, look there" whispered
a well-dressed lady in the audience to her
daughter "that is the very manner OF
jumping along that L had such time of
breaking you"
"Weli," answered the daughter, indig-
nantly, as she became aware that several
persons in the circumjacent region had
been ne owed to mirth by her mothers ex-
cited tone, II don't walk that way any
longer"
"Don't go ambling along with your
shoulders tied up in bowknot or your
body as stiff as pole,. with the arms held
rigidly at the Sides" said Mrs. Venter;
and in harmony with the motion OF the
body. You see"-tripping lightly across
the stage-''this does not jar your brain
every time you put your feet down, as
happens when you walknpon your HEELS"
The lady then stated that so far as ex.
ternal appearances go lady should not
have any shoulder blades. And she
added that thin women would do some.
thing nightly conducive to their peace of
mind if they would learn to walk in q
proper and graceful manner, thus avoid
ing the awkward protuberance of the
shoulder-bladcs that accompanies an in-
correct carriage.
Now" she continued, "let me talk to
you little while on the subject of sitting
gracefully. In this great deal depends
on the time, the place and the humor of
the speaker; but always avoid angularity.
In bending forward, do so from the hips;
most women do SO from the shoulders.
And pay some attention to the place where
you happen to be. Do you really know
this with slight arching of the brows and
the faintest perceptible suspicion of sar-
casm in her voice-"that l have seen
women sitting in the parlors of an hotel
with one leg carelessly thrown over the
other in way that exposed their draper
les who would have been utterly shocked
at the sight of a woman in rainy-day
dress?"
She next turned her attention to show
ing some of the improper ways people
have of ascending and descending stairs.
The way schoolgirls have of bouncing
down stairway was described as one OF
the most rash practices that are in vogue
among the thoughtless.
II don't want any of you to think take
you for schoolgirls" she added, ssbut
many of you may have girls that do this
very thing, and my advice to you is to get
them to stop it at once"
The lady retired from the stage at this
juncture, and when she reappeared was
robed in q natty street dress. All through
the rest of her lecture she changed her ap-
parel to suit the subject on which she
happened to be discoursing, appearing
afternoon reception dress, an evening and
a rainy day dress.
s'Let me say right here" she remarked.
twisting herself l:thely in the region of
the waist, II have never worn a corset in
my life. / deem it barbarous. A natural
waist Is large waist, and any woman
ought to have sense enough to know that
when she congresses her vital organs she
is slowly committing suicide"
"Weli, them" queried one of her audi
tors, "what keeps you so straightT'
my bones,'' was the laughing answer.
"That's what they were made for, isn't
itY
The remainder of the lecture was de-
voted largely to discussion of the utility
and modesty of the rainy day dress,
which comes down to the ankles and un-
derneath which are worn bloomers and
leggings.