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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (June 21, 1908)
r THE SUADAT OREGOXIAJf, TORTLAXD, JUNE 21, 1908. Jiv ISS ANNA teas certainly a god I j send. It was due to her compre- hension of the "human warlous," and her experienced knowledge of Lon don, that I was enabled to revisit places I had never seea before. When she calmly aesked me to spend a day sightseeing In the "'City," I gasped. Hut when she reminded me that I ought to look once more on some of the old landmarks of London, I was flattered into a gracious acceptance. One soft, purry August morning we started out. I was supposed to be ab solutely under her direction, but when the remarked casually that we would take a 'bus, I rebelled. "I have never been In or on the horrid things," I protested, "and I never Intend to." But she only said, "We'll stand on the corner of Oxford street, and wait for a City Atlas," and somehow I immediately felt quite accustomed to City Atlases, and Intuitively knew it would be a blue one, but it wasn't. Imitating Miss Anna's air of habitual custom. I swung myself aboard of the moving monster, and laboriously climbed the curving companion-way at the back. Once In our seats, it was not so bad; though very like riding the whirlwind, w ithout being allowed to direct the storm. .Miss Anna drew my attention to points of interest as we passed them. In her tactful way she humored my idiosyncrasy. She never said, "On your riEht is the 'Salutation and Cat,' where Coleridge and Southey and Umb used to congregate of a Winter evening." She said, instead, "Haven't you always thought 'Salutation end Cat,' the very dearest tavern in all London?" Nor when we came to the half-timbered nouses of Holborn did she say, "Here lived Lamb's godfather, who was known to and visited by Sheridan." She said: "Don't you like Hawthorne's way of putting these things? You re member how he tells us that on his first visit to London he went astray in Hol born, through an arched entrance, in a court opening inward, with a great many sunflowers in full bloom." All this pleased me. as. did also Bum pus's great book-shop, which is, I think, in this neighborhood. Another delightful pastime was observ ing the signs over the shop doors. As the English are adept in the making of phrases, so are they especially happy in adjusting their callings to their names. J.est I he considered frivolous, I shall mention only two; but surely there could Women Now Have Diet IET luncheons are the newest fad with women. There is in conse quence despair in the hearts of many of the fashionable maitres d'hotel who made reputations by composing tempting menus for midday feminine feasts, says the New York Sun. Extravagance began to run riot a few seasons ago, when women woke to the fact that they could entertain more easily and even more Inexpensively at the hotels than In their own homes. They changed the dining-rooms trom dreary, half-filled apartments Into gay bowers during the hours from 1 to 3 P. M., and each hostess tried to outdo the others in ordering rich aod rare things for her feast. Besides that, for years the meals known to men as women's luncheons, were made up of strange combinations of hot and cold foods, with much rich pastry and cakes. Chocolate and coffee were the liquids, and women accumu lated flesh and cultivated dyspepsia in trying to keep up. 1 Hut all that Is changed now, and even in the cheaper places, where the shop ping woman was wont to run in for a few eclairs, a lobster croquette and an li ed tea. there is rigid avoidance of the old-time, dishes pim! a marked tendency to the regular diet foods, such as un lettered toast in place of bread, coffee and tea without cream or sugar, and avoidance of sweets. Reduction cures and beauty cures started the new order of things and within the last few years doctors have leen prescribing diets as a cure for various ills such as rheumatism, nerves a till the troubles which proceeded direct-, ly from the stomach. It looks as though the drugless age was about to dawn when high-priced specialists tell their patients to drink hot water mornings and live on rare beef, spinach of aspar agus and salads without oil, which is one of the iiniversal cures that a well known doctor Is giving dozens of his - patients. The fight against fat is getting to be so serious a matter that nine women out of ten are -cutting down their daily allowance of food and when two r three of them meet for a midday bite they agree on the slmplest possible fare. At a Turkish bath the other day a party of women ordered for their lunch dry toast and coffee with an extra large and fine dish of fruit. It cannot be said that the restaurants enjoy the new fad for diet luncheons. Several of these places, the best-known, in fact, have made a specialty of pro viding hundreds of the very richest kinds of cakes and concoctions made with cream and sugar for the feminine limcheon each day. Now an observer -will sec women with glasses of milk instead of chocolate or coffee, and toast or bread and butter substituted for the little mounds of cake and jelly covered with pink and green icing and ringed with whipped cream. "There is a decided change in the midday orders for women's luncheons,' said the head waiter of one of the popular rooms, "but it is only a fad and will not last. A woman who goes in for a luncheon alone may afford to have but a cup of soup and a biscuit, but when she goes out to luncneon tt Is, different. "t-lie looks then for something more tempting, and. above all, new. These things may not be heavy, in fact they must not be, but the beef and spinach diet will, not remain a standing order, you may be sure, with women. "For centuries they have been fond of sweets, and it is. you might say. a part of the feminine nature to care more for things wth whipped cream and sugar and icing than for plain - foods. I think it would detract from the charm and the fascination of wo men generally if they became vege tarians or adopted the idea of mere meat and a vegetable as a diet. "The women of Russia and of France are notably beautiful and- charming and they are certainly not abstemious so far as the Juxuries of the table are concerned. American women have al ways lived well from the days of the Puritans when they' discovered the ex cellence of turkey and mince pie. in spite of their strict sense of life's re sponsibilities and duties. "American women have always been famous cooks, and this proves that they can appreciate good rooking. The not be more appropriate names for den tists than two whose signboards proudly announced Shipley Slipper, and, across the street from him Mr. Strong-i'th'arm: We went on, absorbed in our view of kaleidoscopic London, until Miss Anna decreed that we go down to the ground again. There was no elevator as in the Flatiron building, so we tumbled" down the back stairs and were thrown off. The sequence of the places we visited I do not remember, but they seemed to be mostly churches and taverns. St. ' Paul's was taken casually, as in deed It should be. being like a corpora tion, without a soul. Exteriorly, and from a goodly distance, St. Paul's 4s perfection. From the river, or from Parliament Hill, It Is sympa thetic and responsive. But inside It is a mere vastness of mosaic and gilding, peopled with shiny marbles of heroic size. There Is an -.impressive grandeur of art, but no message for the spirit. It Is magnificent, but it is not church. Miss Anna and I walked properly about the edifice, fortunately agreeing in our attitude toward it. From here, I think, she led me across something and through something and around something else, and then we were in St. Bartholomew's Church. Being the oldest church In London. St. Bar tholomew's Is historically Important, but it Is interesting and delightful as well. The very air inside has been shut in there ever since the twelfth century, yet one breathes it normally, and enjoys the Biiddcn backward transition. Had I the time, I could easily find an inclina tion to walk every day round its ancient triforlum. As we left the church the Charter house put itself In our way. Though other British subjects were educated at this school, it remains sacred to the mem ory of Thackeray. From here he wrote to his mother, "There are but 370 boys In this school, "and I wish there were only 36.1." But visitors to the Charter house are glad .that the 370th boy re mained there, and stamped the whole plaj:e with his gentle memory. The at mosphere of the Charter-house is won derfully calm; it does not connote boys," but seems tranquilly imbued with the later wisdom of the great men who spent their youthful days within its walls. The stranger In London has a decided advantage over the resident, In that he can choose his heroes. A friend of mine, who lives In Chelsea proudly assured me that he could throw a stone from his garden into Carlyle's! The point of his remark seemed to be not his superior marksmanship, but the South, which Is famed for its cooking, produces the most beautiful women. They remain slim and elegant and charming, although they eat waffles and fried chicken and other foods for which their section of the country is famous. "New York women have a tendency to stoutness, but this is a matter of cli mate and temperament rather chan their food. Some of the very stoutest women weigh every bit of bread and butter they eat, or maybe they eliminate both and take saccharine tablets in place of sugar. "At present there is a taboo on many of the dishes that used to be feminine favorites, notably chicken and lobster salads, but then does anyone eat these two dishes as they used? I think not. At supper there is a call for them, but luncheons and dinners find them left out. t s.i t ,., .VI V W . SW3 PHOTOGRAPHING AN . ELEPHANT WITH THE X-RAYS. "Several days ago an elephant in the Cincinnati Zoological Gardens swallowed a diamond ring which had been dropped by a lady visitor. It was important that the missing jewel be "lo cated." For this purpose the service of an X-ray photographing apparatus was called Into use and the great beast was "taken" In sections. At first she resented the strange device and be came obstreperous, her keeper being obliged to use his wits and his Instruments of punishment to make her tractable. When, the animal learned that the camera was harmless, she submit ted In ; good grace. Her pose is here shown in this remarkable photograph. proximity to the garden of a great man. Now, were I of the stone-throwing sex, there is many a dead ' hero at whose garden I should aim before I turned to ward Carlyle's. But of course this was because my friend lived in Chelsea. Therefore tho non-resident, not . being confined to a locality, can throw im aginary stones into any one's garden. A desultory discussion of this -subject caused Miss Anna to propose that our next stone be aimed at the garden of Dr. Samuel Johnson. So to the Cheshire Cheese we went. The Imposing personality of Dr. John son and the antiquity of the famous tav ern led me to anticipate great things; and I was sorely, disappointed (as prob ably most visitors are) at the plainly spread table, the fearfully hard seats and the trying umbrella-rack filled with sawdust. Of course we occupied the historic Luncheons "On the other hand, there are many new dishes that have come to take tliel. TTaMia an4 ova wndnnKtaHlv lial. fVer. Grapefruit seems a substitute for soup at women's luncheons, and chicken sweetbreads and fish to a great extent take the place of beef and mutton. "The rule is to have very few vege tables, two at most, and this obtains with women's - menus. Potatoes are en tirely barred by many women, as their fattening properties are generally un derstood. "Others bar tomatoes In any form, as they are supposed to tend to uric acid, which means rheumatism and kindred disorders. Sweets of all kinds stand for obesity, and women, many of them, will order coffee and fruit as a dessert. "But men are the real diet fiends. For instance, we have a number of men who will have nothing but crackers and milk for luncheon; others will have pie corner, where, according to the brass tablet. Dr. Johnson loved to linger; but two young American women whose tastes are not of the sanded floor and mulled ale variety cannot at a midday meal whoop up much of the atmosphere that probably surrounded the smoke-wreathed midnights. of Johnsonian revelry. Not that we didn't enjoy It. for we were of a mind to enjoy everything that day; but the appreciation was entirely objective. Methodically we climbed the stairs and viewed all the rooms of the old, old house, and on the top floor were duly shown by the guide the old 'arm chair in which Dr. Johnson used to sit. A stout twin was tied across from arm to arm, that pilgrims might not further wear out the old cushion. When I, as an enormous jest, asked the guide to cut the string, that I might sit In the his toric chair, he cheerfully did so, and' I considered the fee well spent that al and milk,' and the waiter's fee is as much as the check. At this season we have several men who order strawberry shortcake with cream and sugar and have nothing else. "But the sad thing Is that with all this sacrifice the flesh stays on some people, especially women. And that is why I am sure that the simple diet fad will not be long-lived with them, ex cept In cases of actual illness. "Dieting will help the health and the appearance of women, but climate it appears to me, is what determines, the type of the feminine sex. The women of England, for instance, eat a great deal more than Americans, but they remain long, lanky and languid and never fatten until late In life. "French women are plumper, but of delicate frame, With long, thin feet, and they are not inclined to be tall. But the American women are Junos and they are built sturdily with straight backs and exquisite feet and limbs. Unfortunately they have a ten dency to take on flesh, but they have wakened to the danger of late, and that is one reason why the diet lunch eon fad has taken hold of chem." j .Lr , lowed me to linger for a moment on the very dusty cushions of Dr. Johnson's own chair. I afterward learned that the string business was a fraud, and was renewed and cut again for each curious visitor. I accept with equanimity this clever ruse, but I'm still wondering how they renew the dust. f While we were doing Early Restau rants Miss Anna said, "We must take In Crosby Place." This pleased me hugely, for I remem bered how Gloucester, in "Richard the Third," was everlastingly repairing to Crosby Place, and I desired to know what was the attraction. I found if interesting, but, lacking Gloucester, I shall not repair there of ten. To be sure. It is a magnificent house, Gothic, Perpendicular and all that, the hangings and appointments are, probably, much as they used to be, but The Proper THE woman who keeps her hands in good condition now manicures twice a day, once when dressing in the morning and once when retiring. The second manicuring Is the more im portant of the two. The grooming of the hands, like the grooming of the hair, takes a great deal of time. The hands must be bleached until enow white and they must have the skin treated until it Is fine. Then the temperature of the hands must receive attention. Women who sit with hands tightly clasped will have hot hands. Women whose nerves are un strung will have hands suggesting the zero point. The most agreeable hands are those that merely convey the impression of warmth. They are neither hot nor cold. It Is part of the work of the hand cul- after all, I do not care greatly for eat ing among Emotions. Whereupon Miss Anna cheerfully pro posed that we visit the Tower. "No," said I, with decision; and then, my mind still on "Richard the Third," I quoted: "I do not like the Tower, of any place." , I'm not sure I should have been able so bravely to disclaim an Interest In the Tower, had It not been that the night before I had heard a wise and .prominent Londoner state' the fact that he had never visited it. "No Londoner has ever been to the Tower," he declared. "We used to say that we Intended to go some time or other, but now; we don't even say that." I was greatly relieved to learn this, for I'm positive that the Tower is hideous and uninteresting. As an alternative, I asked that we might visit the railway stations. Aside from the romance that is indi genous to all railway stations, there are peculiar characteristics of - the great Indon termini that are of absorbing in terest. And so strong are the claims each puts forth for pre-eminence, it is In deed difficult to award a palm. Euston has Its columns. Charing Cross its Tribute to Queen Eleanor, St. Pan eras a spacious roominess and Victoria a wofully-crowded and limited space. Each station has its own sort of people, and, though Indubitably they must min gle upon occasion, yet the type of crowd at each station Is invariably the same. And yet, after all, my heart goes back with fondest memories to Kuston. Not the crowd, not even the atmosphere, but the mysterious influence which emanates from those wonderful columns.. Not only the sight of them as you approach from London, but the queer, almost uncanny way in which they permeate the whole place. They follow you through the sta tion and Into the train, and not for many miles can you get out from under the presence of those perfect shapes. Coming Into London, Cannon street Is a good station to choose, if your route permit, but going out, Euston or Charing Cross should, if possible, be selected. Before, after or during, our station vis its, we touched on a few more churches. The Temple Church proved a delight be cause of the bronze Knights peacefully resting there. Miss Anna told me they were called Crusaders because they chose to lie with their legs crossed. This was probably true, for the position was main tained by all of them. Oliver Goldsmith is buried here, but I had no particular desire to throw a stone into his grave yard, so we went on, Owing toa change Grooming of the Hand; turtet to make the hands of the right degree of warmth. The, French woman gives much care to her hands. She is very economical of all things and specially of her beauty lotions. Thus after manicuring she slips on an old pair of gloves which she has patched and fitted until they are big and comfortttble upon her hands. In these she keeps her hands encased for half a day. When she removes them, her finger tips are beautifully manicured. The gloves have been treated to keep the hands white and soft, and while she was working her gloves have been making her hands prettier. The French treatment for the inside of gloves Is simple. The gloves are turned Inside out and the Inner surface Is Ironed with a cream made by 'taking sheep's fat and trying It out on a warm stove. It is cooled, and as it hardens Into a white cake of cream a few drops of camphor is put of mood, we no longer rode on the 'buses, but took a hansom from one place to an other. This was not as extravagant as it might seem, for, notwithstanding as sertions to the contrary', one cannot ride enough in London cabs to make the bill of any considerable amount, at least s compared to a New York cab bill. And Shakespeare averred that "nothing is small or great but by comparison. " As our cab bumplly threaded Its way along the crammed Strand, the bright colored mass of humanity and traffic seemed to me the pre-eminent London. I wanted no more sightseeing, I wanted no more historical association. I merely wanted to continue this opportunity for feasting on real City London. I vora ciously bit oft large chunks of the (tirnos phere as we passed through y, which I am even yet digesting and assimilating. As a compliment to this view of Lon don, we suddenly decided to call on a friend for a cup of tea. A personal, at home tea would be a pleasant contrast to the publicity of our day. Deciding upon the coziest and homeliest tea-dispenser, we drove to Mrs. Todd's, 'in Kensington. It Is a great satisfaction to know that the unpromising portal of a London house will positively lead eventually to a de lightful back garden, and tea. We were welcomed by our charming hostess in her pretty training summeri ness, and were immediately transformed from whimsical sightseers Into ( sociable teadrinkers. Though It was by no means a special occasion, the garden was bright with flowers and people;- and the tea and cakes were served under the inevitable marquee. It wag ' Mrs. Todd's weekly day at home, and the guests were all amiable and charming. A young wo man with a phenomenal voice, sang to 'us from the back parlor windows, and thereby gave a stimulus to the conver sation. All was usual and orthodox. Everybody listened politely to every body's else chatter, and, apparently un hearing, answered at random, and quite often wrongly. It seemed to me that even in this land of bright flowers the blossoming plants were of unusually brilliant hues. As I took my departure I commented on this, and my hostess responded w'ith a superb Indifference: "Really? yes, they are rather good ones. The nursery- man fetched them early this afternoon, and after you are all gone.he will come and carry them away": and. If you please, those ridiculous plants were in pots, sunk into the earth and giving all the effect of a beautiful growing garden! This fable teaches that our English sis ters are not above the small bluffs more often ascribed to American femininity. into it. The result is a camphor smelling cake of whiteness. With this the Inner side of the gloves is ironed. To make it easier for the ama teur a little white wax can 'be added. It is applied with the point of a warm iron. Hands must now be prepared In a new way, for the fashion in hands has changed. No longer do they lie in re pose upon one's lap. They must move about and be expressive. Hands need various treatment accord ing to the language they speak. There is a literary woman in London who uses her hands to signify deep thought. She sits with the tips of the Angers lightly touching. It is a pretty trick if one can perform It cleverly and if one's hands are good. The shape of the finger tips is of the ut most importance. The nails should be' short and the ends of the fingers plump yet tapering. The girlish posture for the hands Is in the lap, open and with the palms upward. They must have no rings or other Jew elry, and the color of the palms should be a deep rose. Hands that are not exercised grow old so soon. Yet the exercise of the hands Is difficult for the reason that one Is apt to carry it too far. The little girl who plays marbles unconsciously puts her hands through just the right movements to keep them supple. She turns her wrists; ehe rolls her arms; she moves each finger separately, and she dimples her knuckles. The dimpling of the knuckles is very important. Try to dimple the back of your hand. open your fingers wide, stretch them as far back as you can and see If your knuckles do not show little dimple spots. Practice each day, and your hands will begin to look pretty. A graceful mowement of the hands is that of placing the palms together so that the hands clasp each other loosely. This is very effective if the hands are young and full of pretty curves. It shows the rings and enables one to dis play a set of perfect finger tips. But it is trying If the hands be old and Wrinkled, knotty or disposed vto be coarse. , , The most Important manicuring of the day comes at night. The finger tips must be soaked in oil and the flesh pushed back with a stick cut like a horseshoe on one end. This is wound with cotton and pressed upon the nail gently, so as to force the flesh back and make the nail almond shaped. Then the nails should be gently rubbed with some good nail emollient to keep them from splitting. Finally, the hands are lightly bleached to keep them in good color. Then the hands are ready for the night. Sleeping in gloves is annoying in the Summertime. But if the backs of the hands are growing freckled or tanned, one can sleep in gloves from which the palm has Deen removed. The backs and fingers of. tho .gloves are Ironed with a good bleaching cream or aro filled Willi glove paste. In the mornjng the handy are washed well In oatmeal water and soap, and rinsed in boracic acid and water. Once a Week they are whitened in a very weak carbolic bath and once In two weeks they are bleached with a lemon bath. This- course ,with an occasional sponging with peroxide of hvdrogen will keep the hands in good color. When the hands are manicured in the morning theyare well washe I and rii sed. Thej' are then whii-jucd with co!u cream and the nails are polished. If they are dull a little colored salve is rubbed into them or they are stained with fresh trawbeiry jutce. Tien the plush is applied, and the woman who is careful of her hands will slip thom Into big, loose gloves for the morning's work. The individuality of the fingers Is one of the tricks taught to the aspirant for good hands. Do not keep your fingers all grouped in a little bunco, bu; sep arate them. Hands must be properly dressed these days. The woman who wears rings must wear them smartly. In London they wear rings In a series, on all four fingers. The dressing of the hands takes a great deal of time. The woman who keeps her hands nice must put half an hour a day upon them. But this is not an extravagant price to pay for a pair of handsome hands.
