Waterbury evening Democrat., 1903-06-23
WOMEN.

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 We deem 1t heroic of the Christian martyrs to have been boiled and skinned alive for their faith, and, read ing of the torture they underwent, we shudder and marvel; but there are hun dreds of living women in every large city. who have been boiled and skinned alive, not by prosecuting tyrants, but by beauty doctors, and not through constraint, but of their own free will and seeking. These suffering women of our own time are not honored Tor their pains. No churches are erected in their names. On the contrary, they are. obliged to pay heavily for the priv ilege of being tortured
 In the quest of beauty some women will stop st nothing, and as the coun- try becomes richer women spend more and more time and money on the i'm provemer1t of their faces and figures, There is an immense and growing trade in face creams, lotions, and other prep aratlons for the complexion. During the past six or seven years hairdress- ing and beauty parlors have sprung up in numbers. Most women deem 1t necessary to have their hair treated" weekly, and the treatment consists 1n many cases in & good deal more than wetting the scalp with tonic and brushing the scalp. At these establish ments obliging experts will tint the hair in any desired shade. They will also massage the face and neck, re- move moles and pimples and perform various similar operations.
 Not all beauty doctors attempt the, sk1nning- alive operation, however, for 1t is difficult and delicate and some time when unsuccessful, mars wona- ans appearance forever. The skin is first burned and scalded in one way or another, sometimes by corrosive acids until the epidermig is loosened so that 1t may be peeled off. Then the pa tient is kept in retirement for a few weeks, until new skin grows. This new skin is soft and free from lines. for a while. Another popular way of turning plain women into beauties is to enamel them. The enamel Is laid oil over the skin and Is then literally baked It must not be washed, but IS cleaned with 8 dry cloth. The enamel cracks sooner or later, notwithstand- ing precautions, and the process must be gone through again.
 Of course a comparatively small number Of women submit to be skin ned or enameled, but there many thou sands who go through treatments as troublesome as these. if not so painful, for the sake of beauty. They put themselves on unpleasant diets, mas sage their skin morning and evening, perform calisthenic exercises and spend several hours each day on like offices. By these means and with the help of fine clothes. many women of leisure make themselves comedy enough.
 Is the game worth the candle? To 8 ph1losopher, no; to a woman. perhaps. yes. It Is well enough to remark, sage ly, that beauty is only skin deep, but it Is 8 most unusual sage, among men, who looks deeper than the skin. Plain women are at & disadvantage in soci- ety. They have to take the beauties leavings. A plain woman may have all the virtues and many graces of mind, and a pretty women may have a selfish soul and an empty head, but the men will flock about the pretty woman, and if the plain one makes satirical speeches the men will attrib- ute them to envy. AS a class plain women are not spoiled as. pretty ones ' are, and they have often more brains, or at least more knowledge, and blind man would probably prefer plain girl to beauty; but men who think themselves very deep and, as a. sex very superior, are intoxicated by the sight of a pretty face and the lure of handsome pair of eyes. Pretty 2 women can fool the great majority of men. T can make any man fall in love with me, said a disdainful and shallow beauty in moment of boast ful frankness, "but no woman. The women see through me at once" Of course the admiration of men is not the only good in life for a woman and this reflection makes woman a philosopher San Francisco Bulletin. ls