The herald., 1896-02-29
TOO ADVANCED TO TAKE.
| Only Mile. SorePs Beauty Saved HeA
GOWN From COnde ntiOn.

Only Mile. SorePs Beauty Saved Her
Gown From Condemnation.
| Mile. Sorel, who is one Of the prettiest
Of French actresses, wears a gown that
may be very advanced, but is, neverthe-
| less, very ugly-only Sore's splendid pres
ence saves 1t from immediate failure. 1t
| has a trained skirt of white cloth, Arm,
| fine and glossy as satin-ana as expensive.
| The Louis XIV. coat of green velvet ap-
| pliqued with lace and jewels, and with a
white satin waistcoat, is very elegant-so
| far, so good. The sleeves are of velvet,
appiiqued with lace, and so tight that they
are buttoned the whole length Of the inside
seam. A stiff cap covers the hand, and at
| the top instead of graceful epaule.s there is
a stitf double ruf1e Of accordion plated
tulle that stands straight out into space.
x y 4
Small vices are greatly on the increase
among women. At least the tall girl with
skates on her arm said so. and she didn't
bad habits. "Just notice around among your
friends" she went on, 'and perhaps it's
the extra nervous tension Of our modern
| life, but you'll find that seven out Of every
ten women encourage themselves In some
peculiar and injuriously morbid tastes.'
1t began few years ago, innocently
enough, in the first use of tobacco. Lots Of
us thought it piquant and pretty to put
smoke rings from little Turkish cigarette,
| and now, nothing is more astonishing 10
; observe than the number of girls right
! in their debutante season and matrons with
| many other delightful occupations and
| fancies to busy lips and fingers who are
confirmed cigarette iends.
x X 4
The little roll Of tobacco. no bigger than
an oat straw, has given place to what
| is vastly more injurious than the biting
| Virginia weed men smoke, the big opium
| tinctured Oriental cigarette. The gentle
smokers allow themselves six and eight Of
| these a day, enjoying the soothing sensa-
tion they impart and deeply inhaling every
| mouthful they draw. The extent to which
the habit has grown did not impress me un-
| til my manicure mentioned how many Of
her patrons once week came to have the
inside points Of the thumb and index fn-
| gers cleaned from nicotine stains.
Now, the worst phase Of the cigarette
I habit is that the insidious tobacco is not
Of so much injury to women's lungs as It
is to their nerves. This is an entirely dif-
ferent effect from that produced on the
masculine system.
Whether the last generation Of mothers
| left legacy all around OF peculiarly weak
| nervous systems to their daughters, or
| whether the complicated questions of the
hour are too distracting to the female mind.
| I can't say but moderation in tastes s, EN-
| to be disregarded. Haven't you noticed the
| numbers Of women who keep their little bon
boniers full of soda mint tablets or potash
PELLETS. enjoying them as though they were
| bonbors?
| Not very long ago, in Paris, the fashion
| for pallid cheeks induced few absurd
creatures to eat raw barley, wheat or oats,
| in hopes Of an unwholesome flesh coloring.
Ever so many otherwise sane American
| women have tried it. and from trial have
fallen into the shocking habit Of eating
cupfuls Of these raw cereals, husks and all,
that hitherto We thought only ponderous
millstones could cope with.
y Z y
But the barley eaters are no whit worse
than their stupid sisters, who have an end Of
the century craze for perfumes. Drinking
cologne, few drops at a time on lump
Of sugar, Is the mldest form of this vice.
Over in Paris some reprehensble perfumers
showed their dssipated patrons how sweet
odors could be introduced under the skin
with a hypodermic syringe, and the practice
Us appearing on this side.