The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-07-13


NEW YORK, July 12.-With the July
exodus comes some exhalationS of
scandal which reveal one of the new
est schemes by which women obtain
credit to enable them to outdress and
otherwise eclipse their rivals.
A certain rather gossipy little
Frenchman attached to the Rocham--
beau mission, hearing the ladies of the
party comment very freely on the ex-
travagance of American women, both
In regard to dress and entertaining,
dislodged nugget of gossip from that
foundation of the modern woman's
success, her dressmaker, before going
away.
One of these laxative shopkeepers
explained to him how the American
woman manages to raise the wind
When she wants to make an extra eff
tort. My customers, most of them, at
least, said this dresSmaker, "own real
estate in their own name, which has
| been decided by their husbands in case
OF financial disaster to themselves. Of
course we know very well what amount
each OF our customers have to spend,
and when they reach a safe limit we
tell them SO. Should they want fur
tner credit We then request them to
execute mortgage on their real estate
and in this way secure ourselves
against the!possible results of extrava-
gance. The, practice has become quite
common, and no one seems to be en-
barrassed by itS'
The husbands are not viewing the
matter with the same complacency as
the dressmakerS and many of them
have instructed their lawyers to look
up the mortgages that have been sad
died upon property virtually their own.
Place Heavy Mortgages.
discoveries made, as a result of
these Investigations show that heavy
sums haveYbeen obtained by society
women on theiFSproperty. Some of the
mortgages are SO heavy as to cover the
fulI value OF the real estate, and in GER
tain cases bridge whist is said to have
been the temptation rather than dinner
dresses or lavish entertaining. In one
or two cases the marital differences
caused by the discovery are so serious
as to lead to talk of separation or di-
vorce.
No sooner has ping-pong become the
rage through two or three continents
than it's successor is named, and the
praises OF Jai- alai begin to be sounded.
Ihe Ja1 -alai nicrobe comes to US from
Spain via Cuba, and it's most ardent
adm1rer is Gen. Leonard Wood, ex-
governor of Cuba, Who acquired a pas
sion for the pastime in Havana. sf
Countess Susine, one of the most
prominent members of the old Cuban
aristOcracy, who is at present in this
country, describes the game as the
most fascinating thing she has ever
experienced. ':Of course did not play
myself, said the countess, in speaking
OF it, but L went almost daily to the
From Ton, where it is played, and
where boxes are quite expensive The
elite of Havana flock there to see the
game played daily. as Americans go
TO races ors polo ganes. One naturally
bets If one pleases. The game is play
ed by throwing rubber balls against a
high wall and catching them in the re-
bound. In order to accomplish this the
enthusiastic players often assume the
most extraordinary attitudes, comfort
ing themselves likeoboa constructors
whilst endeavoring to capture the little
rubber globe.
How the Game Is Played
players of jai-alai pronounced Hi
/ Ah-lie," wear on their right hands a
"sesta," or basket about. eighteen
inches long, which fits on the hand
with a glove. The basket is six
inches wide at the hand and in width
tapers to three inches at the outer end.
This basket is made of strong wick
erWare and is shaped somewhat like
q crescent. With this they catch the
swiftly moving ball.
The balls are made of extra hard
| rubber, wrapped tightly with thread,
and then covered with thin chamois
skins, very similar to- baseball, only
that it is fraction smaller. Some
/ times this BALI when thrown against
one wall will rebound the entire length
of the building. and frequently in the
rebound it., viii strike, the cemented
| floor but once. before reaching the other
wall
In this game first one white and one
| blue play one-third the distance from
the east wall, against which all balls
are delivered, while the other two play
| as back stops. ,
t'The player Having to make the first
| delivery generally takes a running
start, and while moving throws the ball
to the floor, and as it bOunces catches
it in the basket and delivers it with
! great force against the east wall. The
| rebound is of great velocity If the
| opposing player fails to catch it the
sender's side scores a point, except in
| case the ball on the rebound strikes
| the floor within the sixty-foot mark,
| in which case the sender's side has the
modification of seeing their opponents
| score, and if the ball on the rebound
! fall beyond the 106-foot mark the sec
ond time the opposing side wins a.
| point"
| Woman Gets an Eyeopener.
| At the recent fete de mutt" given on
| the roof garden of the Majestic, by.
! Minerva, something approaching a SEN
| sation was occasioned by the reVela-
| ton made by one of the seeresses to
| a prominent society woman. 1t is
| shrewdy suspected that the seeress in
| question knew more about the affairs
! of the womans family than she was
supposed to know. At any rate the
| revelation" has led to an investfga-
tion and it is highly probable that a
divorce will be the outcome The
woman whose fate was read should
| have gone off to the coronation, as one
of her sisters, married to an English
peer, will be present, on the day fol-
lowing, but all her plans have been up
set by this abrupt revelation of what
| she believes to be her husbands per-
fidy.
The astrological and crystal gazing
fad, which, has been such a feature the
past season, is said to have been re-
sponsible for so much domestic discard
that it will probably be severely shun-
ned by society next season. 1t is be-
lieved that professional astrologers
| have made 1t a business to employ de-
tectives toE ferret out the private affairs
of wives and husbands, and it has been
even limited that Matchmaking has
formed part of these transactions. OF
course a ready field was furnished for
this by such affairs as the "fete de
mutt" at the Majestic, where the SER
vices of many professionals are usually
employed.E Carter Heath.