The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1898-10-07
Bah Bright Babble

its ashes, and for awhile, when the ashes
were still warm, this old fashioned place
nad but feW visitors. Its time had come.
Ihere were too many memories about il
for It to be neglected. There were too
many happy opportunities for riding and
driving and loye-making for 1t to be for
gotten, and 50 today beside the Southern
- ls already engaged to be mar
ried, is the stylish New York girl or the
stately Boston girl, each come to have q
stay at the Old White.
Life seems one great round of love
making. These Springs were never
meant for fast matrOns or elderly spinsters
but they were dedicated to the beauty Of
youth, and 1t is supreme. The position
OF the mother of the average family here
is that Of looking after her chickens, big
and little, seeing that Eanny's sash is
tied or seeing that some cousin has been
DfOught along because her own mother
g an invalid who cannot endure life at
the White Sulphur. lr short, it is the
position of matronly hen over a very
lively brood. If there is one dominant
industry in the South, one would have to
admit that is, il one wished to be honest
that it is the '.infant" one, for the aver
age Southern family has from four to
fourteen children. At wedding given
near this place not so very long ago the
great desire of the bride was to keep an
Old darky, commonly called Aunt Liz
~, as far from her as possible, since it
was believed that she possessed the mys-
hands" which insured to the happy
couple handsome, healthy pair of twins
before the year was over. ss!sS:
Girls used to buy Aunt Lizzy Howard
to stay away, but she was inclined to be
something of a-well, she was inclined to
tell what wasn't quite true. Sc she
would accept the present aud then at}-
IKE, at the door, ready to put her horri-
BILE black fingers, long and mystical hook
ing, upon the white gown or veil of the
unfortunate bride: Every Southern girl
for miles around knows about her, and
every one of them breads her Not that
they don't want to have tribe of chill
Fdren-that seems to be their greatest hap
plness1but as q young matron put it to
me, IF Aunt Lizzy Howard does man
age to 'hoodoo' you, it is not SO much
yourself that you care about, but for
some reason the gentlemen seem to be
|guyed a little bit about twins, and vet
why should they?
Just look at. the doctor that attended
gallant and religious Stonewall Jackson!
My, he had two or three sets of twins!
And then think of poor Gen. Hood with
numerous pairs of twins! I do believe
they were beautiful. 1 can't remember,
but mamma says that when the Hood ba-
bles all came out with their nanny
everybody used to laugh and say, There
goes Hoods battalion But you know
we Southerners like babies nightly, and
never can think that house is really
well furnished unless there are plenty of
little felix's and two or three well-bred
dogs"
should like with my pen to reproduce
the brides soft Southern accent. do
so wish l could with my pencil portray
the look that came into her eyes as we
talked about the babies. It was the look
that you see in pictures of the Madonna,
not the look that comes into the face of
the woman who finds society of so much
worth and children SO much trouble.
There is always at the White Sulphur
one girl who is the belle. While there
may be hundreds of pretty girls, still
there is one each season who is triun-
plant. and to have been the belle at the
White Sulphur and not to be engaged at
fIts end and counted as a matron during
Ethe next means that the beauty was a
failure. The present one comes from
fciose to the line that divides the North
Efrom the South. She is dressed simply
Flor the best reason in the world. Her
Epeople have very little money to spend
Eand she has been brought here by a rich
Ecousin. She fixes over her frocks, and
twheH one or two more handsomely
fdressed girls have pitied or scoffcd al
1her she always says With laugh: oh
Eand it is quite fun fixing over your
things. You newer know how they are
going to turn OUT ,za. --
T The white mtislin dress is washed
fresh ribbons put on it; and the belle OF
the ball DANCES not only all through the
night, but half the morning and the great
er part of the afternoon, for at the Old
White everybody dances. l sometimes
/ think that is one reason why Southern
children are SO graceful. Taken off fol
| the summer. an awkward boy will be
| hauled in to fill up square dance, and
before he knows anything about anything
| he is getting compliments all afetind, and
the prettiest girl there is saying to him
f why, Tommy. l didn't know you could
dance SO wellv' And tomorrow morning
| Tommy has the courage to ask some one
to dance with him, ana soon his awk.
wardness goes away, while happy moth.
| er says to TOMS mother, why, Mrs
Gordon, your Tom is getting to be real
man." and Toms mother smiles and
| looks lovingly at the author of Toms be-
| ing and says, We'll, he ceftaiHly DON,
get his good mariners and his aae dancing
! from strangers, and the little jest is
made much of, and SO life goes on in a
very innocent manner.
The belle of the bali is saying, "Bdt
don't think our men would like it, The
two soft brown eyes are looking up into
yours, and these words are coming from
| two rosy; red lips. She is giving yon her
opinion as to what Hotlt men like" From
her youth up her brother has been
| trained to wait on her, bat also from her
youth up she has Beefi trained to give the
pretty little 'oThdnk you" the affection
ate nod, the caressing word that is so de-
lightful to the heart of man and which
makes all the difference between the
| woman and the shirt front:
1t is the shirt front that she. thinks
'our men wouldn't like much''-the shirt
front in all it's glory and grandeur, stiff
| and immaculate. She is standing up
with her hands behind her like the pic
lures of Dorothy Tenant, saying, "How
would look in shirt and jacket p
Well, it is funny thing, but you can't
conjure up a picture of how she would
look in a shirt and coat, but you do ap-
prove Of the way she looks in a white
| and bodice that is V shaped at the
throat, both back and front tantalizing
sou with a glimpse Of the white neck; a
| head crowned with soft brown hair and
| 4 half French, half American face glow.
ing at you. She has a happy time of it,
this belle of the White Sulphur Springs,
for life here is a series Of dances. mint
drink so many juleps, but each morning
she takes one because she has been in
the habit of doing so ever since she was a
baby, and she manages to imbibe it as q
bird might, her pretty face showing
above the bunch of green like the flower
| that she is. She is adored by young and
old, and the secret of her popularity lies
!: - 81, utxyr I'll,