The Savannah morning news., 1903-09-13
THE SOUTHERN GIRL
IN NEW YORK.

York Mail and Express says:
If YOU station yourself near the cor
nor of Fifth avenue and Twenty-third
street nowadays you can take notes on
the southern woman as she passes on
her way to the shops. At the close of
August she begins to show herself, and
all through September and October she
focks to town.
You can tell her at a glance, for she
is very different from her Western sis
ter. who appears and vanishes about
the same time. The Western woman
scurries by you with a quick, assertive
stem and breezy air of self-reliance that
stiffens your backbone at once and
tones up your energies. She leaves the
air behind her vibrating with the whir
of twisted R-r's,. and has gone before
YOU realize she was there.
The Southern woman approaches and
masses, seemingly not of her own Volt
lion, but as ii she were waited by some
tickle zephyr-swerving here and there
and drifting calmly on without much
idea of her destination.
She is not a bit smart '-certa1nly
not in the trim, brisk way of Northern
women, but there is a certain charm
and artless grace in her half-conscious
way of going along. A Northern girl,
or a Western one, knows where she is
going and exactly how much time she
has to spend in getting there, but the
one from Dixie knows only that she
is in New York-and that is enough.
Time is the one thing she is rich in,
and she spends it with superb ostenta-
ton Watch her as she fingers around
the stand of a street flower vender and
prices his wares in a sweet, coolng way
that quite confuses him. Another wom-
an bustles up and demands a dozen
Jacks" in a quick staccato, and the
flower man is on the jump to supply
them. The Southern girl waits without
impatience, interests herself in other
matters and looks wonderly after the
brisk woman, who is off again in an
instant Jacks" in hand, and dlsap-
bearing in the distance.
After she manages to learn the price
Of all his 1owers-interrupted at least
six times by the arrival and departure
of other customers-she sweetly con-
fdes TO the flower man that she really
loves ViOletS better than any other
flower in the world, but she thinks she
had better content herself with few
carnations-Since they are so much
cheaper She stops to thank him When
he hands them to her and makes the
change, and pauses again ere she taxes
her leave, to make some gracious part
ing remark upon his ''be-yeau-tiful
flowers
Her voice is soothing and stirring,
with sort of chanting quality in 1t.
The even flow of pure vowel sounds
rinnles SOFTLY over half-dissolved conso-
nants which would once have stopped
its course and damned 1t to distinction,
but which have long since lost the rude
strength to stand firm in the sweet, in
sinuating current
She is Slight of figure, airy and grace
-nD ic COLI
stunning" She is not ull-blooded
lusty and athletic, with glowing color
and dazzling vitality, but she is often
beautiful, with an exquisite dellcacy
of feature and form-and always sweet.
There is kind of Womanly helpless
ness about her which in some subtle,
catering way strikes at the heart and
makes her dear. The attitude of lean
ing without the weight is her secret.
Seen here, in the drive and swirl of
trade, she cuts half funny, half pitt
full little figure. Her love of pretuneSS
tempts her to indulge too freely in
tufts and fxings. She belongs to the
ballroom, the moon-lit piazza, the tree
Swallowed avenue, but not to streets
and cities. And yet she is here to take
notes Of the new styles, to CLEAN ideas
at shop windows and to remodel her.
self. so that before many days in town
she succeeds, in looking strikingly like
every one else.
The shop girl halls her APPROACH with
a smile and a sigh. Successive au-
tumns have taught her to know the
Southern girl She knows that the
clock will go on the even tenor of its
way, ticking off seconds and hours
while she waits upon her, answers her
questions, listens to her condolences and
gives her sympathetic advice about her
purchases. Before they part real af-
lection has sprung up between them
earnest
devout in her appreciation of dry goods
so intent upon stretching her silver
dollars far and fine to compass heI
fond longings and so eager to learn
wisdom out of the mouth of the shoE
girl! She is as troublesome as she is
lovable.
So the shop girl replaces and refolds
goods that she has piled UP before hel
customer, and muSsed and discussed FOL
her. She is very patient, but she snaps
at the next conner to her counter, who Is
perhaps a gilded shopper, with an easy
Indifference as to price, giving an order
for cloth of gold.
But with all of her ambles among
dry goods and millinery, the Southern
girls buys astonishingly little She Sc
lects her favorite hats and learns theil
price, but never buys before locking
herself in her room and losine
herself in prayer and meditation. By
dint of much moving about and many
inquiries, she discovers a tailor who
puts her into modish uniform at {
ridiculously small price. Then she goes
a wrap" hunting. keeping on the seen
for days before she comes to compro'
mise between her fancy and her pocket
book
When these necessities are secured
and theater tickets allowed her, thu
pocketbook is turned inside out anC
Squeezed FOR the airy trifles of he
toilet, which are her dearest delights
She goes back home with every nool
and crevice of her trunk brimmed anC
flowing over with remnants of ribbon
lace, enbroideries, passementeries an(
every sort of gay junk imaginable. He
pretty head is quite as tightly packed
with schemes for conjuring new con
nets and hats, stocks, collarettes an(
the thousand dress accessories sh'
loves out of the chaos of gewgaW'
she has accumulated.
When she returns to her own hom'
she shuts herself in a chrysalis, ana b!
the assistance of a negro sewing WON
an who works at her home, under ne
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