The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-03-01

l There are many capable persons among the elect whose chief social adornment is the ability to do in successful way other and more serious things than society. In this city one might count on more than one's 10 fingers the society women who are gifted in various fashions, beside the ability to appear well at a pink tea, but there are also to be considered a number who have been but are no longer Birming- ham people. and who are carrying on their various pufFa'its in more or less serious vein in citias Ely adopted. One of the most gifte7 ng women in New York is formaf ningham society girl. and at the nnIN member of delightful coterie is see netropolis-NIrs. Lewis B. Woodruff Woodruff was Miss Helen Smith, As her of Mir. and Mrs, Oscar Smith, ay ii city and formerly or An niston. a. s belle and beauty when a mem smart set of a half dozen years 4s rmingham, but at that time | her cs was already recognized anon ends. She was known to posse Sable talent for caricature, whe Flo 1tivated, indeed, in New Yorl Jill a young girl. Her wit took form not only in talent for caricature but she was discovered to wield facile pen, and now since be- coming the wife of prominent New York man she has spent some of her leisure moments in the profitable pastime of writ ing clever speeches for magazines. Her friends here have gathered no end of amusement this winter from a sketch of hers which appeared in Harper's Weekly. It was written after the style of the so often derided Talks With Girls' which adorns most magazines for women. She called it Pants and the Home Beauti- full" How many of The Aeg- Herald read CTS saw it, I wonder? I heard it quoted and laughed about long before it was known that it's author-Helen s. Wood ruff-was the Helen Smith that we knew 1t Birmingham. Tt is dehciously funny its absurdity emphasized by the illustra- tions which F. Strothmann furnished. Imagine a half page story in Harper's constructed upon the things that may be accomplished by the house beautifer out of a discarded pair of trousers belong ing to father! It's serio-comic sound as she begins 1t, 'I hope you have thought over what told you last month. dear girls, for I have some new little seeds of thought for you this time to plant in your Heart Garden, and to hear her tell of the charm and beauty of a home refecting the personality of her who lives therein is carried out in the cleyerest fashion through plan after plan involving the use of 'papa's pants' She says. for ex- ample. ~I have one bright little friend who has utilized them in such pretty, sweet way by making hanging jardiniers. This she does by tying the bottom of each leg with bows of ribbon, filling the whole with sand, then planting ferns at the top and hanging them up by the suspenders. This is particularly pretty decoration for a bay window, especially if papa is a stout man, for then. of course, the con- tour of the pants and the window coincide. which is always good point in interior decoration. as all lines should be harmon ious, Bachelor buttons, johnny jump-lps and jack-in-the- -pulpits are particularly well adapted for such jardnieres: and if you desire to usesthe pockets as well as the top I should advise some flower with a long pistil for use in the hip pocket, while golden glow looks well creeping from the side pockets. A hanging garden of this kind makes any room look cosy and lived in. I would not, however, advise its use in old maids homes, for a thing to be in really good taste should be appro- priate to it's surroundingsv' After this she gives in the same fashion a number of ''pretty ideas,' and suggests that she could go on indefinitely If space would but permit Another funny conceit was kimono waist for large girl which. she says. "can be made from pair of papais pants especially if the seat is so worn that it has a hole in it. Just take the pair you desire to use for this purpose turn them upside down and hind part be- fore, slipping your head through the hole and your arms through the legs. The front opening for the pants will form the back opening for the waist. while the hole, of course. forms the neck line