The San Francisco call., 1904-11-27

In fact, she is just about as re-
freshing and surprising as a bit
4 OF green in the midst of a desert
and just about as rare, too.
Perhaps the age should be blamed
more than the girls, but whatever the
cause, The effect remains precisely the
same. Its frivolity and pleasure on all
sides and the fast and furious rate at
which the average girl whirls merrily
from tea TO reception and on TO din
ner and dance almost leads one to
suspect that she is a firm believer OF
Eat, drink and be merry, for to-mor-
row We die"
Ninety and nine girls out Of a hun
ored know astOnishingly little Of home
ly matters and things. The pretty
frOcks come quite as a matter Of course
and SO do all the little accessories that
complete a dainty toilet. It's true the
going back and forth to the modiste to
be fitted is a decided nuisance. but then
II is one that cannot very well be
avoided and iIs the sensible thing TO
make the most and best Of il. Visit
ing the hairdresser and waiting for a
manicure is another woe that is a nee
essary evil but under the circum-
stances il must be endured. for the
most must be made of oneself and il
would be quite as bad TO neglect ones
person as ii would be to forget ones
manners.
The society girl certainly leads a
charmed life. She filters and fiutters
about, making Of life one huge JOY and
she absolutely refuses TO be shouldered
with the problems and the responsible
ties that viii come whether or no
Then the question is just this-who
does put the shoulder to the wheel and
bear the brunt Of everything? Some
one has TO do it. In the ordinary house
hold there is a cook and a maid or
merely maid Of all work and they
are far too busy attending to their own
trials and tribulations 10 even give any
one else so much as a passing thought.
So IL is quite evident they do not mend
The torn fOunce, freshen up the after
noon frOck with a scrap of new tulle or
see that the light gloves are clean and
presentable. They do not curl the
straight feather, cleanse the lace waist
or draw together the fine stocking. But
somebody does, for no matter whether
the household is big or little, just such
tasks, and thankless ones they are, too,
bob UP every day and manage to keep
ones nose pretty well TO the grindstone.
Ask Mary Jane or Eliza Anne why
she doesn't help with her waist and she
VIII answer promptly that she lis too
busy" or doesn't know how" And
furthermore, she viii be frankly sur
prised that you were benighted enough
70 suppose for a single instant that
she did. In her mad rush for
social pleasures she has allowed
her fund Of practical wisdom, if
she ever possessed any, to dwindle
down until il requires a powerful spy
glass TO discover it, and all the time
she is particularly well pleased with
herself
Compare the girl Of to-day with, for
instance, her grandmother. The latter
did not have the same broad education
ana the same advantages that travel
brings, but she knew all that was nee
essary and more than enough to keep
all the men in the neighborhood guess
ing, and incidentally on pins and nee
dies. Besides all this she knew every
rule and regulation of housekeeping by
heart and could turn her hand from
bread making TO millinery and
straighten out frOck in the meantime
If a rush invitation found her ward
robe inadequate she didn't fly about
like spinning jimmy looking for this,
that and the other thing. She bought
her material and promptly sat down
and fashioned ii to suit her own sweet
fancy.
This girl Of the COS or thereabouts
was not only independent, but emf
nently practical as well. By making
her own clothes she saved enough to
aoo any number or pretty nothings
that are so tantaliZingly expensive and
at the same time she saved herself
the bother and annoyance of running
about from dressmaker TO dressmaker
only to be told that they couldn't pos
sibly do il in such a short time"
How many girls in this age and gen
Grafton snap their fingers at the mill
liner or the dressmaker and go home
and turn out a frOck or hat that may
be worn without its proclaiming from
the housetop that it is a home product?
Yet the girl of to-day has every ia
cility with which 10 work. She has an
endless variety of styles and fashions
from which TO choose and for a triie
may start forth TO battle, armed with
a pattern that viii A. her TO nicely
Does she do it? Not very often. In
stead she buys a pretty inexpensive
null that costs her some three or four
dollars and takes ii TO her dressmaker
who charges her anywhere from twelve
20 twenty dollars TO make il and tacks
on a pretty bill for findings in the bar
gain. Such a girl isn't practical. OF
course, IL she possesses a bulging pock-
etbOol1. it does not matter one way or
the other, but If she keeps her eye on
her pennies to see that both ends meet,
she is foolishly extravagant PERSONAL
ly / do not know Of any easier way for
q girl 10 make money. And especially
the one who stops at home on an al
loWance. It is not the. value of a
thing so much as the effect these days,
and II a tWenty-dve-cent gown can be