The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1911-09-19
FINGER SALUTE
AGAIN POPULAR
GALLANT FRENCHMAN NOW BOWS
OVER LADY's HAND AND
AMPRINTs LIGHT KISS
WOMEN WIN A VICTORY
MILE. MALLERY. POSSESSING ALL
THE VIRTUES, CHEF OF WHICH
Is STRENGTH, WINS
.ROsIERE."
WOMEN WIN A VICTORY
(By La Reconteuse.)


one sees men kiss th;- delicate fingers
Of their hostess, our nj ali the faf A.
ionabie seaside res,-ts this summer,
and from Trouyiile to st. lean de LIz
1t has been remarked that Wherever
ladies and gentle MA meet, IN the 40
tel hall, at the races, or on The beGcn,
/ the women Offer their hand. ana The
men, with a courteous bow. RAISE 1t
! and kiss the finger tips. IT IS al petty
custom, but many foolish people have
been Directing to the "baise- main
on the ground that 1t is not in keep
| ing with the clothes men wear in
! 1911. They claim that tho gentleman
should wear powdered wig, SILK
stockings, knee breeches and buckled
shoes and while he CALAMITY bends
over madames "toHe main" his left
hand should rest on the hilt of his
| sword.
| This Is all nonsense. what could be
more modern and prosaic, less ro-
mantle and picturesque than Care st.
| LazareH Yet, only month ago. as l
was passing through the station no.
tel, / noticed an elderly couple take
leave of each other in ii manner which
showed me that the 'baise main is
not a thing of clothes or environment
! He was a tall. white-headed old gem
| tleman. with STOPPING shoulders, and
| q frock coat. The lady, evidently a
French woman. WAS Of the "duchesse-
douairiere" type, dignified, yet grace
! full, and wearing q well-made Paris
gown. They walked through the hall.
.cnattlng and smiling, and when they
! reached the foot OF the steps and were
saying goodby, the courtly old gem
tleman raised the lady's hand and i'm
printed kiss on the finger tips The
gesture was accomplished as only a
Trenchman and a patrician would
perform II. and the amiahle inc!ina-
ton OF the "duchesse -douairiere' 9"
head stamped her as TO the manner
born, OF course they We're French,
and that makes lot of difference.
Americans who have been brought
UP to row and jump. to play football
and golf are not so much at home in
drawing rooms as FrenGhmen. They
prefer the open air. 1 have heard
men from America make fun Of the
Frenchmans bow. But they could not
do obeisanee to lady half as well.
Perhaps part Of the explanation is
that while Frenchmen think no hom-
age too exaggerated to pay to this
fair sex, Americans do not believe in
making a fuss about their womenfolk.
Officials Must lie Gentlemen.
A victory for the female workers OF
the Prussian State railroad, Just con-
firmed by ministerial decree. will he
rather a sore trial to the consistency
of advocates OF equality of the sexes,
FOR Ii establishes the superiority of
women. and thus destroys the prlnci
pie for which they are striving. Hence
forth according to the decree, railroad
officials of the male sex must be
courteous to their gentler follow func-
tionaries. even should the latter
occupy inferior rank in the HER
iarchy, tnt,l few Years ago all
Prussian railroad officials were men,
and the organization being virtually
on a purely military basis, there was
no room for doubt about every sub
ordinate having to salute his superior,
who saw to 1t in his ingrained Prus-
sian way that he obtained his due
quota of respect
7 OF recent years, however. women
have won their way into the services
as clerks. Ever since there have been
constant chickering's between the wo-
men and the male ofticials--and they
were numerous--whose vanity of rank
ontweighed their gallantry. The men
maintained their rights as ''supe-
riors.' and dismissed all claims for
courteous treatment towards interiors
of whatever sex The women, on the
other hand, demanded to be treated as
ladies" first, and as officials after
wards. Eventually the murmurings
OF both sides reached the ear Of the
} Minister OF Transportation. with the
= result that he has decreed in favor
= of the employees so that in future even
! the higher male officials must act as
: gentlemen.
An Amazon "Rosiere."
Nile. Mallery has just received the
l Rosiere's prize at Ntnay, near Gre
3 noble A "Rosiere" is maiden pos
sessed OF all the virtues. on whom. on
: that account, dowry - hestow ed
/ either by the mayor and corporation
3 of her native place, or by some be-
nevolent donor. The prize enables
a her TO find a husband. even il her
! virtues do not
There are innumerable Rosieres an
8 nuelly in France, almost one for every
) hamlet: but Mile. Mallery stands out
7 from the rest. She Is not only vir-
Q tuous, but strong. She stands just six
feet. and she tills the fields with her
D father q farmer. She lifts weight
. and can easily juggfe with one or two
3 hundred pounds. Her feats OF strength
3 are many. One of her fathers farm
Y hands drove UP with sacks OF wheat
D One OF them was too heavy for him,
! and he asked for help. Mile. Mallery
: smiled. and brushed MIN aside. She
. lifted the sack. weighing over 400
= pounds, as If ii were a feather, shout
ueTeu IL, sHu Sdt4 AZ iAto siAo 81 C.
3 nary.
: She has just been awarded for her
1 virtues the sum OF S400 In gold piee ss
/ left annually by a merchant OF tns
{. South to the most deserving girl oi
her village. In spite OF her virtues
. and her dowry she has not Yet iounc
g a husband. She Is looking out Tor ne
: but will not put up with ~takling
D She says the man Of her choice mus
: lift more than she can.
8 Nerve to Face Rodin.
= However greatly one may admire the
8 genius of II. Rodin, 1t requires coUr
: age for a woman to sit TO hun for &
l portrait bust, and. truth % tell, no
many have made the venture. One car
never foresee what idea ones face may
suggest to the master. nor wha- kline
| of impression In stone may be NE ~o
suit.
: The Comtesse de Noailles made tn,
experiment. recently. She has sat Il
artists and sculptors innumerahfc. ant
, some celebrated canvasss have i'm
: mortalized her exotic beauty. But i
3 was left to NJ. Rodin to make of tn,
Q poetesss face an indeterminate thing
q only the eyes and nose OF which orr,
l. could be sure. Her first sight of tn
q finished work gave Mime. De NoailIe
: a shock.
Il would rather he had given ~
L the face OF a little work girl" she sar;
o TO friend. las Holleu managed to do
She left ths bust in the s.rtiss'
Il studio. where It was seen by a wealth,