The times., 1899-08-27
GIRLISH GRANDhOFHERS
H0W Seine MatP0ns Retain Their
Youthful Charms.
The Secret of Perpetual Youth Is to
Refuse to Worry, No Matter what
the Proyocation-Find the Daugh-
ter-''Rnfn Walks n Feature I'm
the Life of ~ Fin-de-SfecIe Mafd.

| NEW IOtSfA. <tue. -71iupS CULTURE,
classes for mental Improvement, and as
sociations for the increase of scientific
knowledge have positively been booming
this summer among thef women at the
| fashionable resorts. Up at Lenox the soul
of the society leader has yearned after a
closer acquaintance with natural history
and early in the spring the birding"
classes began-not birding in the schoolboy
sense which implies snares and nest-rob-
bing, but birding in a. purely Christian and
scientific style Twelve ladies put together
a sum of money and secured the services
of an advanced ornithologst, who would
captain the club and take it forth twice a
week in search of feathered friends.
Such genuine anxiety to study birds was
shown that the ornithologist has found it
worth his while to remain in the Berk-
shires all summer, and his chief duty is to
hold his classes afieId and explain things
At o'clock in the morning he goes lis
rounds of the country houses, carrying a
light ladder and staff like an Alpine
stock. and he finds the maids and n1atrons
in golf suits awaiting him. Every woman
carries an opera glass, and over the dewy
hills winds the club, barking to the pro-
fessor's talk. trying to distinguish the
songs of various birds, or catch an iden-
tifyfng glimpse of the songsters by means
of the glasses.
In the spring the professor would brace
his ladder against tree now and then,
and boldly would the ladies' mount to peep
at the eggs or nestlings For three solid
hours the women tramp the fields and
woods and then the entire club gathers at
the home OF a member to be RECALLED with
hearty breakfast and relate their adven-
i lures to friends invited in.
| While pursuit of the bird goes merrily
on at Lenox, Newport this season is
given over heart and soul to musical
knowledge Each week there are lectures
on the various instruments used in or
chestration, and up In the Bar Harbor
neighborhood the country house colony as
sembie TO enjoy mastication lunches. This
| is but cne phase of the physica! culture
fad prevailing in the Maine settlements,
and the women are united in the belief
| that 1t will reduce their waist measures,
| help their digestion, improve their COM
| plexions. and prevent thoughtless gossip
| to give fcrty bites to every mouthful of
food Whether the forty bites has any
effect or not 1t is hard to say, but the
| facts of the case are, that whether it is
sewing on glove buttons or investigating
the solar system, no woman is quite con-
tent until she organizes club or class for
the fulfllment of the duty on hand.
Don't commit the fatal mistake of try
ing to correspond with any of your fash
ionable women friends. Letters, good,
| long newsy epistles covering four to six
pages OF the average paper is effort cast
upon the waters of the society mind sure to
come back TO you only in the form of a
few words on postcard, or, even less, on
small note sheet Sooner or later In
your association with what old-fashioned
folk used to call the "haut ton you will
learn that brevity is considered in cor
| respondence. the soul of wit, and that a
| modish person covers never more than the
first page OF note sheet with writing II
you answer a communication at greater
length than this II simply won't be read
or the lady will give il to her secretary
to peruse and condense into lsynopsisl e
This is discouraging to one who adrnires
the polite art Of letter writing, but IL you
| complain your friend will assure you that
life Is too real and earnest and too full of
more important and amusing events to
| permit one moments waste over letters
When you write choose the very gayest
note paper you can find; a deep purple
known as royal iris.' is the proper tone
| for your stationery, and at the top OF ev-
! cry sheet you have coat of arms emboss-
| ed in white. Fold the paper once into an
| envelope much longer than broad forbear
| the use of wax, employ quill pen, and
adopt broad backhand stroke in writing
| Black ink and heavy dashes, large pn-
| derseored signature and tall, assertive-
| looking capitals are all indications of the
| fashionable correspondent.
| Formerly the bereaved society woman
| bordered her letter paper with bands so
broad and sable that little space On the
sheet was left for the lettering Now the
| death OF child, parent, or life's partner
| does not seem to necessitate anything more
than hairiine of black on the edge of the
| first page of every sheet, and many women
| in mourning write on paper tinted grey
| blue, mauve, royal fris purple, and lightly
| banded with black along the edge. Women
| in society do not write long letters but
| they make up in quantity for quality Be-
| tween good friends notes are exchanged at
! least once day. Women OF Mrs Phelps
| Stokes and Mrs. William Sloan's position
| receive as many as twenty letters every
morning. Very, very few of them are over
a page in length, and one private secretary
! to a fashionable woman says that her en-
! ployer's stamping expenses average dol
lar and a half day the year round.
! viii you walk with me tomorrow If it
rains?"
That is what the smart girls at the
| summer resorts ask each other this sea-
son when they meet at the casinos and on
the golf links 1t sounds quite inexplica-
bic. but 1t Is nothing more than reliza-
tion of the ancient superstition in advo-
caey of the excellence of rain water. Even
! Cleopatra knew that water fresh from the
| skies possessed mysterious virtues, but
the modern girl believes she can prove
| that round rosy cheeks and countenance
without wrinkle Will unto the fifth and
| sixth decade of her age be the property or
whoever takes her face bath direct from
| tt< clouds.
| In consequence of this faith every smart
resort and country house colony turns out
a troupe of young women every rainy day.
! Over in fashionable Bernardsville, up
| along the Hudson at RE-nebeck and in
| the Narragansett cottage settlement, the
| rainy daisies can be seen when the down
pour comes trouping over hills and fields
| with countenaces held nscientiously
skywards. The rule is that you must take
the cold shower directly on your face and
| let the moisture dry off, as 1t does from
the flower petals, partly by absorption and
rarity by evaporation. and IL you have
either a dry or greasy skin there is no
tonic so sure to bring velvet quality TO
the surface as this. Maybe it does and
maybe 1t doesn't, but the point beyond
| dispute or contradiction is that the rain
| walkers derive infinite pleasure and salts
| faction and solid physical benefit from the
quaint exercise.
| The cool, moist air is all for their good
and under their gos5amer coats they wear
| short-skirted flannel suits, such as are
used in sea bathing with these golf shoes
and woolen hose and all protection is given