The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-02-02
ideas For Qilprnen.

Unhappy is the moral--be his years 90
or 6--who comes during everyday life
in contact with that dreaded creation,
the "Fussing W~oman"A-the being who
makes you uncomfortable ip@the easiest
of chairs. in your pretaast gown. in
your happiest mood.
It is the children WHO ehristen the
operation as fuss" And the sound
conveys In some way an Indication Of
her methods. She is not the rack which
fortunes you outright But she is the
hair shirt which prtcks ma prods. driv-
ing you to a species ofs eternal despera-
ton to the state Of mind which Prone
theus experienced when In chains and de-
voured by degrees.
At Christmas time I visited in a large
country house on the road to Radnor.
My friend, who Is a charmink little wom-
an In every way, was entertaining at the
same season her brothers wife and the
two children. The sister-in-law was a
sfussing woman Thu fortunes which
our little party endured at her hands
were quite enough to turn the visit Into
a nightmare for US all-which they did
A certain part of her star-chamber ca
reer / still remember and shall until the
end of things. One OF her two little
daughters placed upon a sunny window
sill a peagreen silk sash. The child UNI
happily forgot to remove THE ribbon and
some of the peagreen color was stolen
away by the sun. This was enough for
the fussing woman.
From that time forward, and during
the entire two weeks of our stay, we had
that peagreen sash served up to us with
every meal. We had the price of the
sash. Its length, its breadth, and thick
ness. The poor child who had commit
ted the crime sat meekly by and listened.
I shall never forget that peagreen sash
because l cannot
Did you ever observe a ,fussing woman
prepare for afternoon calls2 She has the
entire house in an uproar. It could not
be more so If she Intended crossing a
desert in a caravan-instead of merely
going around the corner.
The cook below stairs is in a fume be-
cause Instructions enough to construct
a second Tower OF Babel have been hurl-
ed and are being hurled down the back
stairway.
The maids above stairs are huttering
hithers and thither. They have been told
to do SO many things that they can re.
member lone.
The children listen to the buzz Of
voices, the banging of doors and ex-
plain it all in the whisper, Mammals
going out"
The carriage has been ordered for 4
p. u. At 1855 P. NJ. 1t has not appeared.
Naturally enough, the woman of the
house is sure that "the man has forgot
ten" Some one is sent flying to the
stables. Things there are hurried and
worried In the prescribed order.
And when the carriage arrives the wo-
man OF the house is not ready.
-
When guests arrive the fussing woman
is in her element. She presses you to eat.
She Insists that you are not eating. If a
Wand is brought upon the table which
you do not care for and you pass
by. she raises sueh a storm OF question
and comment that you feel guilty of MUIR
der. at least. you would gladly swallow
the apples of Sodom which were filled
with ashes rather than refuse another
dish.
Next to guests and children the mortals
who suffer most at the hands of the fuss
ing women are the servants. Usually
they come and go every month She pays
thrice h wages given by other women
and seeures maids which are barely
worth the having.
The man of the house leads an UNI
comfortable existence Of It when he ar
rives at home after the cares of the day.
He Is treated to accounts Of how things
have gone wrong during the day. To
petty details concerning the wastefulness
Of this or that man servant. The I'M
tidiness of such and such q maid. The
supper is fused on the table Inc OF. The
children are fused away to bed.
II the man OF the house be weary he
shuts himself Ia the library with books.
If he be OF social disposition he HES HIM
self to the club, where no fussfng exists.
While the woman OF the house at
home, wonders what men see In cIubs.
Though this paper deals with Sew
elry," the term Is hardly a correct
one, for "jewelry." as understood by u
grandmothers and Observation-Disclosures, is
a vanished ornament. and Jewels now
reign In its stead. The old-fashioned solid
gold chains and brooches OF the past
are never seen nowadays. What is. per-
haps, more to be regretted, the beautiful
fligree gold ornaments of delicate Italian
workmanship. so highly priced in former
times, are completely elbowed out by the
more ;gaudy conceits that now sway the
tickle affections of fashion Judging from
the shops of foreign towns. there must
stfl be Some sort of demand for this kind
of jewelry, but, doubtless, 1t Is more the
desire to possesp a mernento of their
travels han anything else that leads
people to purchase 1t. AN inquirer into
the newest fashions IN 5eweiry win be,
perhaps, most struck by the great pre-
ponderance of enameled ornaments.
Enamel set with precious stones. enamel
plain, all sorts and conditions Of enamel.
are nov the popular fsyorltes. and beau
tiful It Ia IN all its translucent briiliancy
OF color. Never "a there been such q
demand before for diamonds: and the
amount of these stones which flood the
market, many OF inferior quality, while
others again reach the highest state of
perfection. ccounts for q demand which
1t is easy to supply.
But II Is the pearl set apart as the
gem symbolicai Of youth, purity and in
nocence. that Is most sought after at
present. "A good pearl always commands
a very high price. and a great feature of
the moment IL the ropes OF pearls thai
1900 - L. -