The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1914-02-22

I ~.
Nevertheless they exist; they have al
ways existed; they will long continue to
| exist.
1t would be well for any of nv reaaers
! who are interested in this matter 10
read short story by Paul Rourpet
called "Autre Anglaise." Bour0et knous
the English and the American ie,ne
file as well as any foreigner can ever
hope to know them He is as Won
know, close friend of your own Henry
James; he has all his life been acrus-
toned to associating with English and
American girls and women. And vet In
this clever little story Bourget expresses
what all F'renchmen really feel-tbe i'm
possibility OF understanding the English
and American standpoint with regard
to unmarried girls.
He practically says that hfs fnta,u.
gence realizes that boys and girls can
be on intimate terms, that they can In
ract be real comrades. but that he him
sell, as Frenchman, finds 1t impossible
10 accept such an idea. And this Is true
OF all Frenchmen. Of all Spantards and
of many Germans.
1t Is specially In Paris that American
girl students give cause for unpleasant
gossip by their free. perfectly innocent
manners and customs. I give you an
example which recently came directly
under my own notice.
relative Of mine was STAYING at a
pension In the Etoile quarter In which
there were number Of American girls
VINO were studying music. Some of
these girls were quite young, II or IS
at most. Nearly all OF them received
their young friends male as well as
| female, in their bedrooms. In the same
pension there were several F'renchrnen
and two or three Italians. The remarks
81 these men In the smoking room on
the subject of the girl students were
aboninahIe. and yet In certain sense
! they were justified, because for a
| French or n Spanish girl such conduct
/ would be inconcelvable.
These young girls almost without ex-
-ceptton had latch keys and came in
alone quite late at night Here again
for the foreigners the position was ex-
traordinary. ] asked a charming old lady
from Boston II such very free conduct
was usual in the United States and
I she said, No: certainly not" She went
| on to say. and this / know to be true
that American girls abroad carry their
| ideas of liberty to the point OF exag-
geration; that they rather glory in
shocking those absurd foreigners" and
insist that If an action Is In Itself really
harmless 1t does not matter what II
| looked like
This Is a grave mistake They saw
plays an important role in the comedy
Of life and where the Jeune file In con-
cerned it oughtsto be regarded seriously.
1t Is thousAnd pities to convey an
utterly false Impression: It is quite use
less to expect that the average Partisan
will find It posAble to understand a
position which remains puzzle TO such
an enlightened artist as Bourget
The weather at Monte Carlo com
tinues 10 be superb sun
shine every day and gay crowds on ali
sides. In the famous Casino there has
been no really sensational play so far
this season. One evening a stolid look
Ing Russian won considerable sum az
roulette, in fact he managed to break
the bank just before rooms closed. This
achievement sounds very wonderful. but
IN reality It does not attract much
attention Nothing happens except that
ar attendant Is quietly ordered To bring
In a fresh supply Of money for that
particular table. The roulette wheel IL
!
usual, but those who understand the
little ways Of the Casino are aware
that the hank has lost more money
than it had been prepared 20 lose ana
that fresh supplies had been com
manded.
pretty English girl made a nice
little coup one afternoon. 1t was her
first visit To the Casino and she boldly
placed golden twenty franc piece on
IL. The number turned up and abe
won thirty-five times her stake. With
amazing self-control she picked up her
winnings and at once put a twenty
franc piece on 31--her lucky IS re-
versed. Once again she won, and as
she thrust the gold pieces into her
smart little sack heard her say TO her
escort, who looked like an induigent
uncle:
Let us skip out and buy that lovely
little blue gown we were looking at this
morning"
In the Cercle Prive. to which the en-
trance fee is 100 francs for the season
and so francs for a month. very lovely
gowns are to be seen. The latest crea :
tions of the best known Partisan dress
makers are worn by beautiful women
VI itssttts Inc snow or
jewels is superb.
Once again the autocrats of the rue
de In Paix are engaged in war OF
"ligne." The struggle Is between the
or line which suggests a possible re-
wal of hooped skirts and the outline
which suggests, with insistence, re-
vival Of those long straight garments
which We're SO successfully exploited
In the eraly pirectoire period and which
have been welcomed by women Of
slender form over and over again since
then.
Paul Poiret is responsible for several
OF the recent upsets In the world Of
fashion. This artist has the courage
OF his ideas and he does not hesitate
to launch crinoline tunics one day and
Directoire coats OF ultraclinging order
the next. Poiret is responsible for the
Persian tunics with stiffened hens
which have been in favor during the
last few months and also for the
strangely shapeless garments Of boyish
outline which have been worn with SO
much grace by some OF the leading
Partisan actresses. But then this ia
nous dressmaker Is thing apart. He
has and will continue to have his own
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