THE SUNDAY OREGONIAN, PORTLAND, SEPTEJIBER 15, 1907.
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wealth of the nation can-enter, Is heard - I 1 . , ' ""SJW W , J f I ' V " ' ' " . ' ' ' i " f
the remark of the proletariat: I 1 ' 1 " f , tff f ' 'li . ' " ' I C
"What a wonder they don't catch cold!" 'Vt " L s V X' , t ( I V, - ' 1 S s , " - rf,i T ?
They do. Some of them are never with- f 3 ' 5sfeS V "V I 4 ?f - . t"i.', L. " ' ' '
out colds during the season, and this in ! t V V X ' ' V 6 . VV -s, ' "
spite of the efforts of the costliest physi- ' 3 XT'VW s S'ft fl ' J . 4 - ' w -i -j '
clans in the country who receive liberal . ..A V A v XXi-'- L.- ' t V V" , i
fi WHO 14 STILL SUITretNO FROM JfMST- ' VHOVERt MANV COSTIY f '
THE EFFECTS Of ALD CONTIWcT ; DKouETie cosriMef
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I OC1ETY is bemoaning the approach pronounced "V" in the back, and the
of the season when the deadly decol- , angle of the letter is permitted to de-
mm lete dress claims most of its vic
tims. This is the period, between the closing
days of September and the beginning of
Winter.
Then the society matron faces this
dread choice of evils. Either she must
ro to evening functions in high-weked
dress, and suffer by comparison with her
lsters attired in the garb dictated by the
canons of polite intercourse, or she must
risk her health in the draughts of houses
not yet made ready for the cool even
ings that come with the waning of Sep
tember. The problem is an annual one, and
very year the decollete danger claims
victims by the score. During the Sum
mer when Newport and other fashion
able watering places have gathered unto
themselves those who live continually in
the high white light that plays as inces
antly on society as on monarchs. town
houses have been closed and heating ap
paratus disconnected.
When the exodus from shore and for
est brings back the Four Hundred, it is
(till too warm for furnaces and steam
pipes, and the sources of heat continue
ut of commission.
Then comes a dance or -reception. So-
lety in decollette turns out. The deadly
Sraught gets In Its work on shoulders,
-recks and arms bared In conformlty to
fashion's laws. The remainder of the
process is quickly described, a chilliness,
cough, and unless heroic measures are
luickly resorted to the foundation has
Wren laid, for an ' illness that lasts all
Winter.
Mrs. John Jacob Astor is still the vic
tim of a cold she developed In this way
a full year-ago.
The lovely wife of the New York finan
cier is famed' equally for the- possession
of a superb pair of shoulders, and the
knowledge of how to pick out the kind
of effect that best sets them. off.
It Is th boast of those who know Mrs.
Astor that she never wears an elaborate
gown that does not contain some abso
lutely new and surprising effect, if not
In the dress or trimming, then In the ar
rangement of the hair or the Jewels she
wears. All of her gewna are cut in a
scend quite a depth
It was while wearing such a dress last
Fall at the beginning of the season that
she developed a slight cold. This was al
lowed to go unnoticed.
In England this Summer Mrs. Astor
made a sensation, and In the triumphs
that came to her naturally she did not
stop to take Into account the risk she
was running by- continuing to pile cold
after cold on, the original trouble.
Duchesses sought the brilliant young
American woman, who without cessation
continued to . demonstrate her absolute
genius for gowns.
The biggest event of the London sea
son was a court function, and for this
Mrs. Astor prepared a remarkable gown,
which was made of gold embroidered
satin, and had a cloth of gold train
hanging from the waist line. This gown
was meant to be the final and most no
table effort of Mrs. Astor, but she was
destined not to wear It at this function
or at any of a dozen which have come
in the interval, for a day before that
slight cold picked up in October, and
neglected ever since, had become a com
plete breakdown, and the young matron
was forced to cancel all her engagements
and begin a battle for health.
That contest has not yet completely
ended, though Mrs. Astor is much im
proved. She has left the Hotel Rltz,
where she stayed at first, and has dis
pensed with the two physicians who had
her in charge for a considerable time.
Mrs. Astor's disappointment over this
unfortunate breakdown at the very cli
max of a brilliant London season was
increased by the fact that it will com
pel her to be less , active in New York
this season, at a time when it had been
pretty well determined that she was
destined to succeed to m mantle of so
cial leadership resigned by Mrs. William
Astor. whose daughter-in-law she Is.
Colonel Astor. who 1- deeply In love
with his beautiful wife, considers the
matter grave, and will probably exercise
a polite espionage over what she wears
whenever there Is the least risk.
Mrs. Astor's case Is only one of hun
dreds that occur In the charmed circle
of the elect.
Often at the grand opera, when for a
brief instant ordinary humanity is per
mitted a glimpse of decollette queens as
they sit in the great flashing horseshoe
of boxes, where only the blood and
wealth of the nation can- enter, is heard
the remark of the proletariat:
"What a wonder they don't catch cold!"
They do. Some of them are never with
out colds during the season, and this in
spite of the efforts of the costliest physi
cians in the country who receive liberal
stipends' for keeping healthy these
daughters of plutocrats.
The - woman who does not wear dec
ollette In the evening Is as a much a
rara avis In society as a hall-room boy
Fish.
And the woman who for scruples per
haps declines to dress in the mode never
by a chance gets credit for her true mo
tives. .
X poor pair of shoulders, or an isnor
ance of how to. dress, are always set
down as the mainsprings of such action.
Young and old alike, from the de
butante to the dowager, all must be simi
larly garbed in the one particular, that
the dress must be cut to a point not
less than eight Inches below the place
where a man has his Adam's apple.
After this regulation is complied with,
society permits any amount of latitude In
the prort-r costume. But decollette Is as
fixed a law as the ancient statutes of
the Medes and the Persians.
Most of the . buds, matrons and dow
agers like the vogue. Mrs. Stuyvesant
Fish thinks she never looks so well as in
decollette, and Is always averse to the
printing of any photograph that shows
her in a high-necked dress.
The lovely Mrs. Robert Ogden Goelet,
who was Miss Elsie Whelen, presents a
most superb figure with her beautiful,
swan-like neck exposed in the freedom of
evening dress, and the dark beauty of
Mrs. Clarence Mackay Is ever enhanced
when her white skin and black hair are
placed in the contrast afforded by a de
collette gown.
. Mrs. O. H. P. Belmont wears extremely
decollette gowns; so does Mrs. William
Vanderbilt. The wives of the three Van
derbilt boys, Reggie Alfred and Corne
lius, are all noted for their partiality to
evening dress, and all three ladies defy
the cold at all seasons for the sake of
Indulging their penchant.
No society matron has been more lib
eral In her -gowns than Mrs. Howard
Gould, her siater-in-law, Mrs." George
Gould, toeing conservative, though, like ,
Mrs. Howard Gould, she, too, was at one
time an actress.
After the season gets fairly under way,
then every effort Is made to protect the
society woman from- the decollette peril.
The carriages and automobiles that carry
them to and from ball, opera or dinner
are in many cases heated. Wraps and
furs, the cheapest of which would dress
the average man for a year, are pur
chased in lavish profusion, so that on the
bitterest night of Winter the woman of
the upper ten may t-enture forth In safety
without-wearing much more than is af
fected by the South Sea islanders who
boast no standing in the blue book.
Draughts are guarded against in ball
rooms and dining-halls, and In those
opera houses which are directly under the
control of society, because society not
only pays the freight, but has Its own
boards of directors who arrange In every
detail for the comfort of the women
who form the higher power.
In December society's shoulders will be
well guarded. .Now' Is the time of danger.
For Irritation of the Skin
N excessive irritation of the skin that
does not amount to prickly heat, but
still is most uncomfortable, is one of the
unpleasant effects of warm weather that
unless allayed often becomes serious. It's
the constant rubbing or scratching o'f af
fected parts that develops soreness which
cooling or soothing applications will pre
vent. If bites of any insects. Including mos
quitoes, are responsible for the discom
fort, a combination of a half dram of
betanapthol and a gill of lavender water
will be found excellent. Alcohol may be
substituted for the lavender water if de
sired. This should be rubbed on fre
quently. Another good thing is a half
ounce of ointment of oleate of mercury
with five grains of camphor. This should
not be used If the skin is broken.
When the irritation can be traced as
being due to overheated blood, . almost
anything cooling Is soothing. In simple
cases frequent bathing with cold water
made strong with bicarbonate of soda is
excellent, but it is not a cure. More likely
to subdue the itchiujt entirely la a mix
ture of half a dram of carbolic acid in
crystals and half a pint of alcohol. This
Is strong and may be diluted with more
alcohol if wished. In any case, it is pois
on if taken internally, and the bottle
should be so marked. It Is used by mop
ping the irritated places with soft muslin.
Nettle rash, that looks and feels so like
prickly heat, comes from a slight poison
In the blood and requires internal medi
cines. At the same time the ' frightful
itching may be allayed by using a prep
aration of one drarn of boracic acid, a
quarter of an ounce of ointment of rose
water and a quarter of an ounce of oxide
of rino ointment. This should be well
mixed and applied externally frequently.
The same Is good for prickly heat, but
this form of Summer irritation does not
require quite such a strong remedy.
Everything posible should be done to cool
the blood, lightweight clothing should be
worn, heating foods avoided, alcohols en
tirely eliminated from the diet and cool
baths taken twice a day. As frequently
as one may, the affected parts should be
mopped with a lotion made of two ounces
of lime water and a quarter ounce of levi
gated calamine. This should be shaken
before using. Any simple toilet powder,
such as talcum, or even powdered starch,
chalk or magnesia, may be plentifully
sprinkled over. . .
The infection from poiaon Ivy distinctly
takes the form of itching, and at the first
Indication of it the place should bi
washed in alcohol, mopplmj well. Aftei
that apply a lotion made of a quarlei
ounce of Impure carbonate of zinc and
one ounce each of glycerine and lime wa.
ter. It is well to wet a thin muslin wits
this and keep it constantly moist over th
place.
Tree Half Maple, Half Pine.
The 'town -of Westminster, Mass..
boasts a remarkable double tree, hall
evergreen and half deciduous, part ol
which Is green in foliage the yeai
through.
In . the northeasterly corner of th
town, a few-rods west of the-junctioe
of the lines of Westminster, Gardnei
and Ashburnham, stands this tree
which can plainly be seen from th
Boston & Maine Railroad tracks. Th
tree Is solid for about four feet of Hi
trunk, where the separation begins
The southerly side Is maple and thi
northerly pine, an apparently wise di
vision, for it places the hardy sld
against the rougher weather.
On close examination the tree showi
plainly the-difference in character ol
bark on the trunk.
How the "freak" tree originated nt
one seems to -know. Boston Glob.