The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1911-02-01


CandIeInas Day
In the Catholic church candlemas to-
morrow Is commemorated as the feast of
the Publication of the Virgin Mary. It is
also called Candlemas day because in
old times, and in many Catholic countries
today they faithfully form professions
and carry lighted candles. On this day
ali the church candles for the year are
blessed. This custom is said to date back
to the year $40. In England candlemas
was observed on very extensive scale
until its abolition in the reign of Edward
VI. In the days when all England was
Catholic everybody from the King down
to the humblest person carried lighted
candle along the highways on this fesA
tival.
In Birmingham candles are blessed Just
before the mass Tin St. Pauls and other
churches having two weekday masses
the ceremony takes place just before the
second mass), and after the candles have
been blessed they are distributed at the
altar rail to members of the congrega-
ton. Every Catholic family is supposed
to keep a blessed candle in the home.
About Person
J. w. Williams, chief clerk to D. F.
McDonough, division freight agent for the
Frisco, is at his office after an absence
of several days from an attack of pneu-
monia. Mr.. Williams has great follow
ing of friends who are pleased to note his
rapid recovery.
E. F. Stovall, general agent for the
Illinois Central railroad, returned yes
terday from- Florida, where he has been
attending a meeting of Florida officials.
SHOULDERS OUT OF FASHION
From the Louisville Courier-Journal
Hips for women have been in and out
of fashion several times within the men,
DRY of middle-aged persons. Just at pres
ent they are rather bad form in two
senses of the term. The hour-glass fig
ure is not desired by the feminine glass
of fashion. The shape" that is most
admired is not that which may be de-
scribed by exclaiming, Hip, Hip, Hur-
rahv' But hitherto there has been no
coming in and going out of shoulders for
men. The well-developed, wedge-shaped,
masculine type has always been in fash
ion. 1t is due to an overweening amb-
ton upon the part of puny men to look
like football players that a peculiarly
awkward situation for men now exists.
The tailors have issued an edict that
shoulders must CO., And while 1t takes
nine tailors to make a man it takes only
one to ruin him by declining to put wad-
ding in his coat.
The building of shoulders has been
going on for a number of years. Men
who have neglected their physiques to
exercise their brains and cater to their
stomaches have found it simple matter
to get the tailor to give them a MilSail
Mordkin figure. Since one of womans
cherished rights is to compel men to keep
their coats on and suffer agonies during
the slenderest prospect that the slender
est man would be forced to remove his
shoulders and betray his true figure IN
the presence of the -admiring
sex. But there are too many padded
coats that would do to wear another
season. The tailors must make clothes.
Therefore the ukase against padded
coats is out. A man who would not be
out of fashion must be out of shoulders
unless he happens to have been wearing
his inside of his shirt instead of outside
of that garment. The split-match figure
will succeed the broad shoulders that
have suggested the tremendous physical
vigor of the young man of fashion de-
spite his milky or sallow complexion, and
the similarity of his hands to those of his
sister.
This is tale adorned with crepe, but
pointing a moral. Had not mans vanity
led him to encourage the tailors to put
pound OF raw cotton in each shoulder
of his coat for Desdemona to admire
while Othello, who never played rough
er game than Billiards, recounted his
bloody exploits upon the gridiron, his ex-
posure would not now be ordered for the
paltry purpose of fattcning the purse Of
the tailor.
MISS AsTOR'S HAT BOXES