The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1907-12-14
FOLDING PARASOLS.

When men and women now so were
small boys and girls parasols were
made with hinged handles. Later
came a time when those parasols
went entirely out of use, supplanteo
by more modern parasols with SOLID
sticks. Now folding handle parasols
have come in again, and there are
now to be found also-these were
never heard of in old times-foldlne
handle umbrellas.
The handle of the old fashioned fold
ing parasol was secured and held IN
position when set straight by means
of a sliding band, and unless this band
fitted very nicely and snugly the han
die was likely to wabble more or less
The modern folding handle umbrella
or parasol has joints so made that
when the umbrella is set up complete
| for use the joints are invisible and
the whole handle is as rigid as solid
stick.
Instead of being held together when
| Strengthened out in place by sliding
band, the sections of the handle of
modern folding umbrella are screwed
! together.
The tip of the folding umbrella can
also be folded. A &c inch folding
umbrella, with handle and tip fold
ed, can be laid diagonally inside "A
! inch suit case. Big, modern, long
stick parasols are now made with
handles joined so that they can be
carried in trunks
But while in this modern revival OF
| folding handle parasols and this pres
ent day production of folding handle
umbrellas the jointed handles are
! largely of this new form Of construc-
ton, there is now made and sold q
smaller folding handled parasol called
parasolette in which the old fash
| toned sliding band to cover the joint
is retained. This little parasol has
also a joint in its stick near the top.
so that its top when opened can be
turned down against the stick. in
which form it might in some circum-
stances be conveniently useful as a
protection against the sun. one of the
uses of the parasolette being found in
driving. Closed, and with its handle
folded, the parasolette is scarcely
more bulky or cumbersome than a
good sized folded fan. and SO it can
be conveniently carried.
There are now made for those who
desire them umbrella cases Of sole
leather. the umbrella case, which is
among the newer of the many and
varied forms in which luggage equip
ment is nowadays to be found. being
slender and tapering but stout leath
er holder of size sufficient to contain
folding handle umbrella with the
handle folded-New York Sun.
WAS JOAN OF ARC A BLONDE?
Was Joan of Arcs hair fair or
dark? That perpetual and palpitating
subject of discussion has como to the
front once more in France in ccnse
quence of the quarrel between M.
leans over the annual fetes. A writer
in the Figaro has summed up the evil
dence, which seems to be as follows:
A number of writer's have ccnclud-
ed that Pucelles hair was dark, but
their conclusions are all derived from
two sources-the testimony of a
writer who was not BORN until after
Joan's death, and the famous single
black hair, found in 1914, attached to
| the wax seal of a documen. address
ed by Joan to the town of Riom. Au-
thorities, however, declare that the
practice of sealing with hair was very
rare, and that it had quite disap-
peared before the fifteenth century.
On the other hand, 4 portrait ex
lists in the museum ct Orleans which
in all probability dates from about
1450, or less than twenty years after
the heroine's death, and in that por-
trait she is represented with fair hair
Other paintings and writings of but
little later date bear the same testi-
mony, so that on the whole the bal
ance of evidence goes to show tina.
! la bonnie Lorraine" had fair, not
dark, tresses.--New York Press.
JUST ONE MINUTE, SISTERS.
If you would appear as slender and
tall as possible, observe the following
rules:
Adopt plain garments, dark colors
and lengthwise effects. A dark Prin-
cess gown with lines from neck to
edge of skirt will accentuate the ap-
parent height and slenderness very
much.
Avoid all crosswise effects and light
colors; shun plaids. belts, large but,
tons, and a variety Of material or
shading at one time-anything which