Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1897-01-24
THE RICHMOND DIsPATCH-sUNDAY JANUARY "a, 1897

=. INK the whole trouble snr,rya 60,
n o laSt that women. when thew 90 On,
tend TO spend" ''o"ey 'hey IN
go "VtWeen ourselves, there Ia moro
nan little truth I'm tbeea ra,,.'.,'.
ae,,s o. course 1t would never do "a
,asN'oWiedge II to the men. KNOW
800 ne"i women who have a private in
s,,r, 49, Wno arc allowed n certain
tho,. "'o"ey 10 run their house on. ana
49, az periectsy satisfied n they can
thosr So.n ends meet by transferring
o'her' And now while am ON thu sunS
ySe1 or rather in the vein OF lecturing
s"e'c ~ something else | want IN cal,
, Se'en,ioh TO, and incidentally. II. also is
us0oinlhs very fashionable This 60 tho
~, uay' have long been convinced
'"@' women do not take sufficient food
,lu the other day / noticed that Mrs
Hsnh Linton was possessed with ex-
aouS the same idea, and had begun q
crusade against Starving for comfort"
THAT HORRIBLE TRAY HABIT
Hls' Linton describes the tray In ALI
us horrors. She explains that II produces
uhhappiness in the home and discomfort
10 tne offender. Women have for ages.
CaIed man beast the creature OF his
appetite but. I am thoroughly convinced
that he has common sense. ~ a woman
has days shopping to do. n solitary sar-
ulne with little jam and a roll is not the
proper KIND or food TO do IL on, even II IL
Is served on tray, so that one can eat IL
IN tne bedroom IN a costume more COM
Portable than pretty. There is nothing
IKE solid food. and II any one chooses to
think me too masculine because / eat a
sood STEAK for breakfast don't care
Jot. Now. there is Miss W. very nice
girl, as you know, except that she is lazy:
she has actually brought trouble on her
self and her family. simply because she is
victim 10 the tray" OF course II would
never do TO tell the stories that are anoat,
but IL Is really fact that the servants
are doing as they please, simply because
they have got In the habit Of never cook
Ing anything when master Is away"
have noticed, too. that one half the
women shoppers spoil their appetites by
goirg round 10 various stores and tast-
Ing this thing and that until I do not be-
lieve they would know the flavor Of a well
cooked chop. But ] must tell you some
thing more about the fashions, and stop
preaching.
NEW PRESENTS ALLOWED.
1t has been the cause Of much regret
among the fair sex, at least many OF
them, that the fashion Of the day had pre-
vented women from accepting from
gentleman presents Of "wearable"
character such as a new gown or hand
some bonnet. For these there is at least
a little comfort 10 be found In the new
custom. just sprung up, of presenting a
lady with a jeweled or enamelled girdle.
such as are fast becoming worn on the
outside Of fur coats and cloaks In re-
gard to the receiving Of presents, men
have always been more fortunate than
women, but this season Dame Fashion has
taken something of a turn. There are
good-luck offerings, now quite the thing
for lady TO accept, and which take the
most wonderful range in variety, you
could imagine. Golden hearts small
jewelled daggers, nails of gold and gems,
and a hundred other oddities are all pre-
pared so that the mean man" may find
no excuse for not presenting his lady love
with anything that is "wearable."
DINING OFF BARE TABLES.
am sure you will be pleased to hear
that dinner parties are daily becoming
more fashionable, and also that the
old. formal way Of entertaining is be-
coming a thing OF the past. All the old
sombreness has gone, it giving way to an
air Of more geniality. One does not have
TO look forward TO a dinner party as a
place where you must sit with gloomy
-dt0 duQ IOl SDtdk Ulllll you are spoken
TO, as our mothers used to tell US when
we were young, or, should say, when we
were children.
And the innovation OF a little fun round
a dinner table has given rise to other
Innovations The very latest at dinners
is TO serve dessert on a polished table with
the cloth removed. This fashion has re-
ceived the stamp OF approval from the
very highest Of the bon ton" set, I'm fact
ffrur sr4fr rot nr -fr1fr
duced, for it is an Old time custom Of the
Princess of Wales. Many young hostesses
have grieved because their handsome
tables were hidden beneath a linen cloth,
and Of course no excuse would have been
tolerated that would allow Of the showing
Of the often handsome wood concealed
underneath.
NEW FLORAL DECORATIONS
The newest modes of floral arrangement
for use at dinners are also adding not a
little 10 the charm of this form of
entertainment, some of those seen at
the really first-class dinners being
specimens Of the most fairy-lke lowell
ness. In fact. it IS difficult TO imagine
how human hands could make them 80
delicately. One. which 1 saw the other
day. in particular, to my fancy 1t was
a rustic stand as q centrepiece frosted
over, and giittering like diamond I'm
that a deep slender basket was held
aloft by sticks. all frosted. and looking
perfectly natural The basket concealed
a tin-can, inside of which grew several
trailing plants and flowers formed into
a parti-colored horseshoe, the whole
being frightened by the light Of "a dozen
tiny fairy lamps gracefully hidden in the
leaves and blossoms. The whole thing
is so light and airy in appearance that
It seemed as II the slightest breath would
destroy it. and IL has the advantage OF
not hiding from each other those sitting
at opposite sides of the table. There are
many Of these stands in use, all kinds
OF designs being seen, and they are also
a most economical kind of decoration.
Sometimes they are placed on large
mirror, and this adds TO their attractive
ness.
HAND-GLASS INDISPENSABLE.
I have something on my mind. 1t is
this-that l ought to write on the absolute
necessity Of a hand-glass TO every
womanl Not that 1 think that every
woman makes up, but a hand-glass is
as searching a. the public eye If properly