The times., 1899-12-31

The debutante daughter today is ty-
rant and an extravaganza. To suca point
OF spleu6or have the introduction teas for
young girls arrived that except the most
gorgeous wedding receptions they sand
alone for sumptuous beauty and royal lib-
erality of appointments. As far as cost
goes there is little 10 distinguish them
from bridal functions. Everything that
bride has or needs. with the exception
solely Of a husband. is supplied t1e sseer
but Unsuitable bud.
To begin with her trousseau. Down 20
the last handkerchief and paper OF piLs &c
must be prepared before her tea for after
that grand entertainment so fast and thick
do the invitations fall around lie she viii
have neither time nor energy TO spend in
shops and dressmakers' establishments
The debutaHte gown is a costume as COM
plete and costly as a wedding dress. and 70
every one Of the girl friends asked 70 re-
ceive with her a souvenir gift with bou-
Quets must be given by the debutaHte. The
daughter viii expect from her father a
necklace, d ring, or fan from her mother
a brooch or some ornament that wi look
well with her white eoming-out gown. with
less costly articles from other members OF
the family.
HAVING i0ed the marx on al THESE l.tlA-1
the self-respeCting relatives must not stint
in floral decorations for the drawing
rooms. they must have one or two bands
of music and they viii Be etsrnally and
unpleasantiy talked about in their social
round OF the ladder If they set forth any
less sumptuOus refreshments than are re-
garded as orthodox for debutante teas, ard
champagne is the one proper beverage %
be poured.
rrrE @r~-
garding debutantes' bouquets and here We
come very often upon q pathetic skeleton
in the closet Of an ambitious 5Jt not too
pretty or too popular social bud. Having
issued her cards. bought her fine gowns
and ordered her delicate wines and viaHds,
she and her mother sit with paIpitating
heart TO watch her bouquets arrive. The
friends Of her family and the young men
in the society she is entering are supposed
to send them. and to appear 20 proper ad-
vantage it is obligatory that she receive
with not one or two but g dozen huge
nosegays about her.
So obligatory indeed is this fesr1re Of
the coming out" that not one girl in
dozen ever receives from her admirers half
the bouquets she appears with on her re-
ceptiOn day but stands embOweTed in the
posies ordered up from the florist By her
diplomatic parents.
When the coming-Out tea Is over then
the dsbuante enters really on her butter
fly season OF brilliancy and power. u
she is 10 do her family credit like q high
strung race horse or prima donna. her
health and spirits must be maintained at
concert pitch. The family carriage IS puc
at her command or she must he given a
good margin OF credit at the livery stable,
the freedom OF the dTawing-room. The lux
ury Of breakfast in bsd, the comfort and
stimulus of a masseuse, a manicure and
hair dresser and first claim on all the
opsra. theatre, and concert seats are yield
ed to her Having invested large sum
OF money in the making Of q fashionable
daughter thC wise parents give her every
opportunity and three months in which 20
prove the value Of their investments
OF course this is all very weH with pa
rents whCsT incomes viii guarantee the
enormous expenditure entaied by a COM
plete single campaign, but the ex-ravagaut
demands Of the ambitious buds today have
forced the merely well-tO-dO families into
combinations for mutual protection against
the enormous expenses OF the initial tea
Two. three. or even five buds VIII appear
together az q single reception held IN
some rost's private drawiEg-ruCm. tEe.r
mothers bearing each a portion uf the
costs and thus the effect Of p thousand
dollar entertainment is secured al third
Of that sum.