The Washington times., 1921-03-30
MODERN
MAID AS C[EANLy
Edith ShackIeton Takes Sharp
Issue With Criticisms by
EIinor Glyn.
by EARL C. REEVES.


LONDON. March 3o.-Elinor Glynn
reported to be resting somewhere in
California, had better bide a while
in the opinion OF Miss Edith Shackle-
ton.
Quite a bunch of very modern
young ladies may give her a recep-
ton IL she returns just now.
The famous novelist has said some
thing which Miss Shackleton and
other very modern young ladies in
terpret as in erring, IL not saying
bluntly that women aren't as clean as
they used to be. She is revolted by
modern females putting smoke at
you. and quite disgusting, to one
sense or another to be near" She
holds up in contrast the women of
the beginning OF this century refined
to their lovely finger tips. gentle
voices perfect scents and clothes and
manners, exquisitely fresh creatures
whom it was obvious that a man
would want to kiss"
"Mrs. Glyn," says Edith Shackleton.
writing with spirit in the Daily
Sketch, ais courageous woman to
make such charges even from the dis
tance of California. ] should not be
at all surprised to hear OF her being
attacked by thousands of indignant
young women, and buried under a
mountain of bath salt and tooth
powder, after being severely prodded
by a million orange sticks. for to say
that the woman of 1921 is personally
less dainty than her predecessor Of
1901 is about as easily defensible as
saying that medieval castle was
more hygienic than the Middlesex
Hospital.
SURE SHE TAKES BATH.
1T could never have been more
difficult for the "uniniated to de-
eide whether girl in evening dress
was bound for a ball or for bath
than it is in London today, but, at
any rate, she has had the bath. 1t
would be too obvious II she hadn't.
AN efficient bath, too. Almost
any London business girl of today
is better bathed than, say. Mary
Queen of Scott was. Mary had a
silver bath filled with warm, red
wine, but 1t probably wasn't half 80
effective as the hideous plumbing IN
our thousands of geyser- fitted sub
urban bathrooms.
The late Victorian corset alone
was enough to have started a pes
tilence. 1t was an elaborate, ex-
rensive affair. often 1t could not
have been washed. The modern girl,
for all stale smoke, has not a skcl-
eton of that sort in her cupboard
Then Edith remembers the one
time heroine of romance who, on
awakening. was always throwing
open the window to let in the pure
morning air. Edith shifts, with her
sisters, who would rather have a
snowdrift in the bed than sleep with
the windows closed"
NO MORE CAMOUFLAGE.
What do they buy? That Is a test
of what folks are, says Miss Shackle-
ton. Twenty years ago, she finds, they
bought frames to pun out the hair,
false curls, switches, stiffening for
absurd sleeves, binding for horrible
street-sweeping skirt hens. Nowadays
the shop counters are heaped with
nail brushes and manicure sets and
shampoo powders, while we have no
evidence that Juliet even possessed a
toothbrush.
THE modern debutapte with her
airy garment and obvious knees,
would wonder what to make of the
remark of a jealous chaperon at n
Dublin ball in the nineties No, cap
tain, Mary Is not for you this polka.
I'm keeping her cool for his excel
lency.'
THE modern girl of 1921 is the best
washed being who has yet Joined the
human pageant"