West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1904-04-21
cHrcAeOs BEAUTY LUNCHEON,

with beauty shows connected with
Worlds fairs and circuses. II has
been left to a Chicago woman TO
introduce the institution into social
life and To- set a whole city i'm a
twitter by proposing to- give a
"beauty luncheon" The Chicago
Record Herald points with pride to
the affair as "a most notable event
in Chicago society" Since that
opening night of grand opera, when
the Tribune presented a detailed
estimate of the cost of gowns and
jewels in the audience, and that
dinner TO Mrs. Patrick Cambell
which the Inter Ocean described as
a ''gastronomical rubaiya,," Chica-
go society has been trifle quies-
cent. Various clubs have "made
culture hum" as they say on
Michigan avenue, but there has
been no really notable social event
snch as the nation has a right to
expect from a center of industry and
civilization.
No wonder, then that the Record
Herald is betrayed into slight
manifestation Of excitement at the
thought Of Mrs. John Barton Payne's
innovation. No wonder that Mrs
Payne herself can only partly con-
ceal her exultation as she talks to
the Record Herald's reporter. For
this is TO be no mere vulgar display
of fine fabrics and rare gems to
which no gown costing less than
81 900 is to be admitted. 1t is to
be symbolic, a Meterlinck affair,
related to Suderman's "Sunken Bell"
and Ibsen's "When We Dead
Awaken" AS the Record Herald
SO delicately puts it: "She desires
that the affair as a whole the
decorations, the entire harmonious
scheme OF loveliness-shali sym
bolize the spirit of spring and the
approach of a more joyous season
and more golden days" Or, to use
the words of the prospective host
ess, "the springtime is to be signal
lied by material expression of
beauty at a luncheon. 1t will be
symbolic of the most exquisite
things of life" An ordinary woman
might have hesitated before the task
of selecting chose fifteen friends
who best conform to her standard
OF facial perfection. But Chicago
is never daunted. Mrs. Payne ap.
proaches her undertaking with
light heart and with an insight APP
preaching genius. When rumors of
the luncheon first leaked out there
was "much curiosity, according TO
the Record Herald, as to "what
standard of beauty would be set up. ("
Would she "takc the marbles OF
the Louvre aud the Vatican as her
criterion" Would she think that
nothing less than the curving
mouth of La Gioconda must be the
mouths OF those Chicogoans who
would be called beautiful" Or
would it be "with the dainty beau
ties OF Greuze, the dazzling women
OF FragoTard, or the more formal
types of Lawrence, that the friends
of Mrs. Payne would be compared"
How frsil is human Judgement
All this speculation proved utterly
beside the mark. Mrs. Payne prov
ed herself as daring in the execu-
ton of her idea as she was original
IN its conception. No mere acad
emic or artistic standard was used. /"
rae only artist whom the hostess
mentioned with even halfway APP
provsl was Titan, although "by no
means setting up his canvases as
portraying her precise ideas of fem.
mime beauty" Handsome eyes,
Mrs. Payne explained, were at the
foundation Of good looks. The nose
was by no means essential. "Mere
perfection in the chiseling of featur
es" was a minor Consideration. But
the mouth was important and so,
too, was "passsble complexion.
Given presentable eyes, mouth
and color and "dash of personal
magnetism" and you have beauti-
ful women, according TO the Chicago
standard
With THIS criterion in mind the
fifteen invitations have been issued
and the event is scheduled for
Thursday night But what the pub
tic really wants to know is whether
the res, 81 Mrs Payne's friends will
ever speak to her again