The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-03-14
Mi-Careme, the Long Ago, and
 Now.

 the butterfly raiment is supposed to be cast aside for sack cloth and ashes, when all devout church women emancipate their souls and improve their complex ions" said my friend Bettina a few days ago, "my household is having a diet of fish and green salads, and I am doing perfect loads of plain sewing and high reading. and going to church every day just as I said at the beginning that I would don't you think that I am doing my duty?"
 The women who were hanging on Bet tina's conversation, as they always do, agreed that she was certainly being a perfect lady and keeping the strictest sort of rules during the Lent.
 Continuing. Bettina said: "Of course I know Lent is not what 1t was when grandmother was young and all that, In fact everybody was so good then that it was simply wonderful. I remember fin the small town where I lived that to go to a social function of any kind dur ing the penetential season was consid- cred nothing short of criminal. Why l remember a certain woman in the vil- 1age with whom my grandmother would allow no communication whatever. She regarded her as all that was terrible and wicked. And 1t was not until after l had reached years of discretion that discovered that the reason the lady was an anathema In the country town was because she had given a party during Lent" The little crowd of women dropped their sewing and gasped at this when Bettina said:
 "Of course meant to tell you that 1t was card party-in fact a poker party and still more than that real money had been lost and won-and perhaps that was why granny felt that she was an im- proper person to associate with"
 ' gr41 ha1 Af Tl144 Geo ther, we discovered that in days of old Lent was so strictly observed that no member of grandmother's household ate any sort of sweets during the 40 days of fasting and prayer:
 Desserts were on the taboo list
 So were candies.
 So was eating between meals.
 ''Jn fact" said Bettina, for 70 days, grandmother says, that every member of the household went to church to every service, did plain sewing for the poor, ate plain food and avoided the theatre, hs one would avoid His Satanic Majesty himself"
 But. "ventured I, ''there was always Mi-Careme."
 No, indeed" exclaimed Bettina, "Grandmother says that Mi-Careme wasn't known then in our circles. Why the very idea of breaking into the aus terities of the Lenten season right in the middle of them! The very thought would have been considered a sin
 In fact even nowadays with us there is no longer the Fete Day of Mi-Careme or Mid-Lent. Only with Parisiennes is this season of festivity In Paris of course there is the old-time carnival at making gay and reveling in the rollick- ing spirit of jollity-but with us there is none of it, as 1t was in grandmother's time"
 And so we learned that in these olden days peopls went bravely on soberly and undverted until the Easter dawn, and emerged brighter and better for the penance they had endured.
 "Grandmother told me-" said Bettina 'that every one arose in her household on Easter morn and attended the 5 o'clock service after having lasted since the Thursday before. And sometimes the odor of the fiower-f1led church, with Easter lilies and white roses, was so pungent that many nearly or quite faint ed when they entered. And girls. grand mother isn't, with all of her pety, with out a sense of humor, and she says one friend of hers was furious when, upon being resnscitated, she discovered that they had cut a brand new, beautiful belt which she wore; and which couldn't be unfastened quickly enough"
 And by the way, what have you girls given up for Lent?' inquired Bettina
 Bridge" said the most demurs little mouse in the crowd. T have played so much that my brain Is perfectly worn out, and I think if give it up for a while I'll play better game"
 Another said: Well. I am doing some sewing as a penance.'
 For the poorf' was the interrogatiye chorus.
 -aNo. for myself-"
 But before she finished one woman spoke up and said:
 Well, I know of several sewing so- cieties which have been inaugurated to sew clothes for the poor during Lent, and in one of them the members have debarred the subjects of dress, society or men,
 How awful" screamed the feminine chorus.
 ''Well, it's true, nevertheless, and the