The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-09-02
OF INTEREST TO WOMEN.
THE BLACK PATCH VOGUE.

With the revival of quaint and pie turesuue fashions, rumors or court matches are in the air. The days when women of fashion wore powdered wigs and fancy black patches on the:r cheeks. chin or forehead are in a flair way to be revived, and, although wigs are unlikely ever to return-for which many thanks should be given yet these attractive little finishes to q makeup are already being seen at Newport and at French watering places.
 There is a good deal of fascination about these things, if women only did hut know 1t. Not only does the dead black give an extra whiteness to a pretty skin, says The New York Tele- gram. but there Is also prescribed code of meaning attached to them, diff ferent places on the face indicating different things.
 They were originated by the Saxon Queen Etheldra, who was canonized after her death. which took place near the end of the seventh century.
 This Queen led a life of great dissi- patton until the death of her second husband, to whom she was greatly at tached: then she saw the folly of her ways, forsook the world and entered a convent, where she was chosen abbess. She gave herself up to the most severe practice of religion. which at that time meant a great neglect of soap and wa ter.
 This, together with long fasting, many penances and other voluntary hardships, caused her pretty face to break out in pimples and blotches. Evidently the Queens religious life had not subdued her pride in her ap- pearance. for she covered the dishgur- ing spots with patches. All her fol- lowers, even though they did not have pimples, adopted the patches as being evidences of really religious life.
 The style originating in a convent was later adopted by court.
 In the days of the Georges in Eng land the fashion was revived after having been long unseen. At this time the patches grew to most elaborate proportions and some were made an inch long and cut carefully to simulate a coach and four. Stars, crescents and circles were the most common forms employed and it was rare that a belle did not have at least two upon her face.
 Here are some of the regular rules of a reliable French authority:
 If a woman wore a patch at the corner of her right eye she was head over heels in love with somebody, for that was the passionate patch. The patch of devotion was worn in the middle of the left cheek. When worn on the right check it could De construed as a sign of disappointment A patch on the lip was translated "co- uuette." and needed no explanatory t--argInal notes. A patch in the mid dle of the chin meant pity.
 The shapes were also significant The round patch was callad the ''as- sassin." This was a pretty strong term, and 1t indicated the wearer's de- termination to make things lively.
 The square patch was less belliger- ent. but not more cheerful for ''re- morse" was the meaning read into it The triangular patch denoted pity and the heart-shaped devotion.
 These old rules make interesting reading; but no one supposes that our American girls would be 50 lacking in common sense as to adopt them.
 The OId-Fashioned Dinner.
 Chicago Inter Ocean
 Tn society circles there is complaint that the men who come to dine do not know the art of conversation. The strained situation at dinner, the aw- full pause around the board when a few dozen people are stranded, help