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THE TIMES. WASHINGTON. SUNDAY. MARCH 30,1902.TRIALSNothing Could Possibly Be More Forlorn Than the Young Girl Who Is Stranded at a Dance, or Who Is So Unfortunate as to Be UnaDDortioned for the Cotillion.Society Bud Is Surrounded by Quite as Many Thorns as a Full-Blown Flower—Entrance Into World of Fashion Depends Largely Upon Her Mothers Ability to Present Her.Hell made her debut she hail practically two families competing to give her a gooJ time, ami *he was the envy of her Iwa fortunate friend*. Relatives certainly count—the more of them the better—In a girl'* first season. Certainly Josephlno Eddy wna bright and clever, and pretty nod popular enough to carry off her debutante honor* this winter with only the aisistnnae of her charming mother, yet everyonolkubl. ' How lovely to have Mrs. Summer* for an aunt!Must Learn to Talk.Primarily It Is nccc5±ary for a bud to learn how to talk before «hc pays formal Visits. When she can enter n drawingroom and find a* many pleasantly bright thlng3 to say a3 Olive Gale. Bhc la fitted perfectly to society's pattern.A debutant** must nlso preserve her effervescent girlishness. When HHdcganhf McKenna and Mabel Hume came out they were Just too Irresistibly gay. with tho school gsjsly under polite bond*, and never failed to put a lunch table in good humor.Do you Imagine it Is a simple Using to poetess and flourish every charm peculiar to the debutante estate, remain natural and unconscious. and be harassed Inwardly with the thought that one may not bo doing the right thing alter all, that somebody's hack ns*y bo up and as likely .13 not one has stroked the fur tho wrong Instiad of the right way. and that one's gown may fail to come home in time for tonight's dance and that fifty new nam*s a day may not be tucked a way systematically in one’s brain cells for futuro use?Her Life Is Stremiou3.Tho life of a debutante Is strenuous, and only the spirit of intrepid womanhood Is equal to It. Though she expects a great deal from society, she doesn't always g- t It. Adola Grccly came out and was a pronounced success, but after cao season she went back to college. Elsfo Curfla an I Daisy Colton had each ono good season's fling nud then went off happy for a year of travel. When aho take* a post-debutante course In society, a girl must be extremely original to retain her reputation for success. She nerd uot go In for freaky charities, like tho women of England, neither can she expect a pretty talent with her voice or brush to carry her along in the social wave, as was the case with her mother.A Fcmininized St. Paul.She hn3 to be a fcmininized St. Paul and poj ie-s every t a lent to appeal to all men. She must be a linguist, not to trip in the diplomatic eet: nhc must knovr bow to brew an incomparable cup of t«*a and mix the latest thing In drinks: fall a cloved dinner Rtory and drive her horses and golf balls with the skill of her brother, read the newspapers, magazines. and new books and devise original methods of entertaining and laying a lunch table.With it all. she tmut remain mother'* Innocent darling, father's comfort, nnd brother'* ideal and still guard that little holy-of-holle.i within far heart that la one day to open to just the right man when she has passed beyond the thorn-prlck* of dcbutantehood.rccKmriATT1S5lR005XVELTjKISS MAYrnissSC°TTthe?e would be flung away recklessly, cap- rly. in exchange for beauty. Mate, do Stacl was cot the only woman who tver longed to be a Her a mi or.The Youthful Mother.Then take the debutante with the flaunt-Ingly youthful mother. What chanco has she compared with the seasoned woman of society, into wlioso imperfect Image she 13 molded? Some mothers refute to grow gray. fat. or lean. They keep their figucea and complexions and attach fresh scalp? to their belts even after their daughter* arc started on the social warpath.When tho Sheridan plrls came out their friends used to speculate as to how much attention they wore lik* ly to receive with bo young and fascinating a mother lu the lead: hut Mrs. Sheridan, who was quite accustomed to be taken for the oldest sister of her girl*, merely •diook a few of her social responsibilities and graces onto younger shoulders, and lo. the girls came forward the sharers ami not tho reflectors of their mother's popularity.Tho mantle of charity Is a good thing, undoubtedly, but the mantle of good breeding ihnt descends from mother to child Is a very beautiful article of adorn* men* in fashionable society.Big Brother Useful.A big brother Is a useful thing to a debutante, provided he has outgrown the period of perpetually falling in love. The lover of another girl ia never aatlsrying 14 his female relatives. But a brother may be u ;ed as a book of reference, and It 1« something to have the masculine point of view vrhcn a girl launches out into society.It Ij something to steer to. and oth r girls w»!l rultlvat*- you And a brother brings his college chum* to the house and chaperons his sOter *n the link*, ar.i relieves her mother of much night dutr when If come* TO parties and ball*. Team work U a good thing In the household.Desirable Grandmother.The debutante with a desirable grandmother la always in luck- When Ml.-**M155r°RAKEDID you ever atop to think that a rosebud i* surrounded by quite «3 many thorn** ns a full-blown Cower?If Nature really respected tho fitncrss of tbiug:i. she might sprout little thornsfor little MoRiiM. but Nature la something like Society, In H.at she has her thorn crop ready grown and trained to prick when tfa- rose-bud* take their first peep a! the world.After a girl has left school, nud before r.be is matrimonially placed, she ha* lo travel through a Ton t of social thorns, und though her tender Uttle heart may lie hurt to bic*-Hr *, and her lllwfopB laid bare Ly the nharp point* of the world's i cotact, n t one I* the vri lt;r, for goes brav* ly on through the fore st, and smiles as rwcetly though the thorns had lt;;*rlt;sslt;d instead of pricked.Not a Simple Thing.If anyone think: It is it almple thing to do the but ante act—unices, of couno, •ho hae happened to be 1/orn an Alice Kooecve!'—only let that some one try It through a January and February in Wash*debutante circus a winning attraction. But o;.ce the debutante has entered the ring, she takes the responsibilities and the chances of success upon her own shoulders a* surely as the hurdle Jumper take* the leap.Her Isolation.No one la altogether prepossessed In the debutante's favor except the men who are too old to be eligible and the women who are too matured to be rivals. The senior society girls look down from dizzy heights of experience upon the social freshman; tho Juniors Ignore her and the sophomores ore conaurocdly Jealous because she has matriculated before they have tho matrimonial degree In sight. With men she stands a bettor chanco for favoritism, but a»i It is the women who have to be propitiated in society; the men do not count.If the debutante Is an only child, her fir t sin on i* rather of n lone-handed game. She must force her own trumps on I exiwct no favorable I* ad.*. Tho b,*t thing she ran do la to develop violent iBtirciHle* wuh olbcr glrla, cultivate bosoms lo which she can floe In the hour when dancing partners fail and some oib-«r girl a picture appears of toner than her own.Stranded at a Dance.Nothing 13 more forlorn than for a debutante to fa* stranded at a dan r or unit pportloncd for the cotillion if she hadn'tfriends of sufficient nearness to cover her retreat behind a billow of petticoats in the corner. Many a girl has been .lixcd with n convenient. If not a convincing, indisposition at her first Bachelor s', nnd gone home In tears at the thought of being a wall flower.AUeo Ro- Hester. Miss Condlt-Smith. Marie Mattingly, and Mary McCotnaa wore girls that made a point of having their men friends favor neglected debutante* in preference to themselves, but *ult; h un-Helfiahnesa Is rare at the present time. Tfco milk of human biwlnca* so or ton congeal* In winter.“A Clrvcr Gid.”A senl-off In the newspapers doc n t necessarily increase a debtilualcV lt;bam lt;of success, and only this season one o' the handsomest of the buds wa» barely mentioned In a society column a:; n •'clover girl, of a lit• * .try turn. b«*i;«ut*-the Interviewing reporter failed to in*, the girl herself nnd her mother waft too inode.it to answer truthfully Hu point-blank question whether or not far daughter was a beauty. Not being told thegirl was beautiful, tho reporter wrote her down •'clever.** according to the law ofcompensation.Handicapped Wjtti Famous Sisters.When a debutante la handicapped with famous alstera. she is to be pitied. Family perfection is such a mountainous prec dent to Rtaud up against. Last winter a delightful girl made her debut in Wa hlugjton hoc let y. She was beautiful, bright, w.jlthjr, anil ovqrynnit remarked at fa r coming-out reception how much rhv re . ;nblcd far slater, who had made a brilliant match In New York tip year before. They said On** could well mistake Jean for Julia, only J«an. poor girl, larku her sister's animation nnd la not much nt conversation.Lived Among Talky People.The truth was. Juliii had lived nil her life among fa Iky. society p**ople. She had p***p«*d behind the scones long before : hlt; bad appenred in public and had grown into her society manner uh rU** had grown Into her long :*kirts. wfarras Jean had been «lmt up in a convent until a lewmonth:*. previous to her coming out. She had everything to learn, though no one would have inspected it if fibu had not had a forerunn* r of perfection in the family.Only think of the condition* that attended the Leiter girls* debut:*. A abler who had been paiuted a:, the great and original American beauty and the Vico-Reine of India Ther* v.as a record und » Mini pie to live up to! and only ono Viceroy iu the world.A Sad Thing.\Vh.v :: *alt;1 thing It fa. too. v. here there ace «. *vlt;lt;ral da tighter .-t to present to o uty If Molll. fa ?n ugly duckling In looks «»r Sal Ik fa .» squint. The rest of the girfa a*-*- certain to be radiantly 1 * autlful. and th«n. ;*oor Mollic’ poor Salih* *They have to fall bark upon ’!»*• *cry of lt;’ :ilt;J»T*dla lor comfort, and kin t frlenda ren.md tl»* xn there fa hope for ill :«.lt; fang :« user, live to ull In love with every variety of thing. U* it a bank account, atanrli heart, or a clever mind. All ofA debutant* s entrance Into the world of foxhfou depend* largely upon her mother. Who ha to b* the LraiH bund an*lthe grand entrance parade, OS well na the^idc-sh^v, bark- r. in order to make the
Newspaper Details
Washington Times
Washington, Washington-DC, US
Sun, Mar 30, 1902
Page 26
Full Page
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Anonymous
DC, USA 11 May 2022
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