OTHE SUNDAY OKEGONIAK PORTLAND, FEBRUARY 7, 1909.
UNDIS'CO
E R
E AUTIES
H
(COPYRICHT.M909. BY THE NEW YORK HERALD" CO.)
AO Rights Reserved ' -
THE
MANICURE
BEAUTY.
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Her Horoscope I
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BY MINERVA MEARES.
r-r- HIS pretty girl was born on August-12, x
L which brines her under the dominion of Leo.
one of the Fire trinity. I his gave her the" spirit of
' 5 Independence which caused her to strike ouior her-
.t self rather than be content in a domestic sphere. It 2
5
!
made her courageous in facing the problems of life, x
She is very independent, and when she has formed
an opinion it will be hard to cause her to change her
mind. i.
Her ideals will go beyond her environment and de-
I. sires, which will cause much dissatisfaction in life
Thtf deeply set eyes accentuate the strength of char-
dieter indicated by the nativity, and will safeguard ?
i- her dignity, though the lovely face and ardent tern- $
. perament will bring her many temptations.
4 In this life the scales will see-saw continually and $
Z. C. . c t ' i : i L i -
u ucij jjaiutc ui lcu, wu!iu gived iicx a poionaie -r
heart, high temper and much of the aggressive in f
her mental attitude, will occasion frequent battles J
royal with her innate idealism and nice sense of $
Justice.
The "nativity indicates also the love of music, f
which' is carried out in the fulness of the eyelid. X
She has a good mental equipment, can decide mat- ?
ters for herself and decide them quickly, will be a
clear and forceful reasoner and quite willing at any
time to enter into and enjoy an argument.
While the shadow and sunshine will chase each -
i
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other rather tempestuously over her destiny, a
Z. natural buoyancy will help carry her through dis- J
5 appointment and disillusion, and in the end she is
v r promised fair success. She should marry a man ?
born between March 21 and April 19 or between
November 22 and December 21.
SHE stands before the mirror and regards herself crit
ically. Yes, she is pale. Uncertainly sh fingers the
box of pink stuff she bought last night. Tentatively
she rubs a little of it upon her forefinger and then
upon her white cheek. She surveys her reflection with a
heightened interest She dabs a bit upon the other cheek
and beams at the result. Then she goes at it seriously.
When it is finished she regards herself with complacency.
She tucks her fresh white waist carefully into her
jacket, puts on her hat and hurries out It is nearly half-
past eight and she is due at the hotel before then.
It has not mattered so much how she looked heretofore.
They were not very particular in the "manicure parlor'
which she left yesterday and where she had her training.
She had to give four weeks' service to learn, but it was
quick learning. Two of the girls taught her and suffered
her to experiment upon their nails, and then, at the close
of the second day, there was a rush of customers and she
was given one. She remembers how her hands trembled.
She got through somehow and by the end of the first
week she was working hard, although she was still afraid.
Vhen the tension of the long day was over she would
shiver between the bed covers. Twice her scissors slipped
and she brought blood. - She does not like to think of
that now. When the "learning time" had elapsed they gave
her eight dollars a week. She earned it
The place was always crowded except on stormy days
and the rules were strict Twenty minutes to a customer
no more. She worked there for ten months. Sometimes
there were twenty customers a day for each girt It was
hard work, especially as many of the customers' hands
were uncired for, apparency, except upon state occa
aiojis. But now and her lieart leaps within her she is
. . - -
THE STORY
expert. Yesterday she was taken on at the hotel, where
you get half for every customer "half of fifty is twenty
five; two customers an hour for nine hours, that Is eigh
teen customers; eighteen times twenty-five, eight fives are
forty, eight two's" she loses herself in her calculating as
she enters the hotel.
The forewoman looks her over critically. The new girl
is a little afraid of her and she shivers a little as the cold
gaze travels up from her feet to her head. Hotel girls must
come up to a certain standard, both in appearance and in
manicuring. The woman's gaze travels past a polished
high heeled small boot and a tidy skirt hem up to an im
maculate white starched and ironed waist, past a coquettish
frill, a white collar to a tiny pointed chin, a full lipped
scarlet mouth, a delicate nose, thick dark lashes fringing .
downcast lids under arched brows. A deeper shade of
the pink she so carefully applied is flooding the charming
face; it turns rosy the tips of her tiny ears, crimsons the
white brow to the roots of her fluffy masses of black hair
piled high upon her head. The woman nods.
"You may sit here," she says.
The downcast lids suddenly lift, revealing what has
heretofore been hidden, a pair of glorious violet eyes. She
places her hat and jacket and seats herself as she is bid,
while the head woman lingers near. She has not seen
the new girl's hands to-day. A manicure's hands must
themselves be in perfect condition. She smiles as - she
sees them. She had approved of the new girl's hands yes-,
terday and they ire even better cared for to-day. Long,
tapering fingers with rosy nails ever so little pointed,
white skin, soft as a baby's a girl with hands like those
will need watching. ' . .
A man enters and takes the chair opposite hers." She -
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OF HER DAY'S WORK.
holds out her hand and takes his. He starts a little. She
raises her eyes. He is a man of perhaps forty-five, florid,
a trifle stout, commonplace, rather loudly dressed. He
starts again as he looks into the violet eyes.
"Whew!" he whistles. "Say, Peaches, give me a quick
one."
It is her turn to start. In the "parlor" she has worked
entirely 'for women, mainly housekeepers with stubby
fingers. Never has she been addressed like this, nor has
she "ever worked with such a hand. It is fat, soft and
dimpled and the nails are almost perfect. She begins.
. When she releases the hand and places it in the hot water
she wonders. Did he really press her hand or did she
; imagine it? The lovely color again floods her face. The
man bends closer.
"Say,: Violet, going anywhere to-night?"
- In sheer surprise she stammers: "
"N-no."
"Well, then, it's fixed. You and me-to the show, to
supper and anything you like to drink." He beams upon
her. .
- Now she understands. She polishes his nails savagely
and bites her lips.' But the man still leans over. .
: "Say, where'll I meet you?"
Stung into a reply, she raises a very white face under
the pink powder.
"You are insulting me," she says.
The man starts angrily, draws his band away,-slams
down a "dollar and departs. The head woman is at her
side in a moment
"What did you do to that gentleman?" she demands.
"He isn't a gentleman," says the girl indignantly; "he -insulted
me." -.: : "
S
uv
"
The forewoman sneers. "He did, eh? How?' The girl
tells the story hastily and then looks up and is appalled at
the look upon the woman's face.
"Well, I never. Insulted you! Now you see here. We
don't want the girls here to make dates; they get fired if
they do; it's bad for the hotel. But when you're asked
out refuse decent. Trump up an excuse, say you've got a
date or a husband or a sick mother anything, but take
the invitation as a compliment. And( don't you chase
away another patron or you walk see?"
She sees. She sees in that one speech thousands of
things. Life hereafter will be a constant battle between
pleasing the head woman . and patrons and maintaining
her self-respect.
In the afternoon she goes upstairs at the forewoman's
bidding to attend two women guests in the hotel, numbers
282 and 283.' Number 282 is a faded little blonde with a
pathetic droop to her mouth.: The girl shudders as the
woman calmly tells how her husband neglects her, of his
dissipations, his brutal conduct; all the most intimate con
fidences of married life are poured into her unwilling ears.
She is glad to escape to 283, a haughty matron who calls
her "young woman" and directs every step of the work
so sharply that the girl keeps her hands steady by sheer
force of will. "Be careful!" is hurled at her every time
she takes the scissors. When she goes downstairs there
is a steady stream of men flowing into the room. All of
them are not like the first.
Two of them' give her money for herself. The fore
woman claims half, but still she has fifty cents. Some of
the men seem nice, although she hardly looks at them.
As she puts on her jacket the forewoman approaches.
- "See here, you needn't be a ramrod. Don't give 'em a
' ;i ::v'?.-' ' : V.' '
The Precious Jewel of
Beauty.
HAT is your fortune, my pretty maid?"
"My face Is my fortune, kind sir," she
said.
And do you, pretty girls, realize that It
Is a fortune, and that it is just like other
fortunes, in that it can be stolen from
you if you are not watchful? And do you realize that
It is, like a jewel, of much greater loveiness if cut and
polished and set correctly? And do you realize that if
you keep it cared for as something precious others
will Value it also, but if you cheapen it yourself it will
appear cheap to others?
All of these things are very important to you beau
tiful girls if you will just think about it a bit, and
it rests with you, with all of you, to be clever as well
as bright.
How can your pretty face be stolen from you?
Very easily, and you will probably find yourselves
helping on the theft. Oh, yes, indeed! And I will
tell you how.
There is a fable that tells us about two great
rocks that sailors had an awful time avoiding." In
trying to keep away from one, called Scylla, they were
apt to wreck themselves over the other, called
Charyndis. And these are like the two thieves that
lie in wait for that pink tinted skin of yours, and the
one is called Starvation and the other Gluttony.
You have your little ten or twenty cents for your
luach, but you want some combs with imitation dia
monds in them, so you eat a five cent sandwich noou
time and save up for the combs. That is how you
scrape against the first rock. Or you spend you twen
ty cents, and you buy chocolate eclairs or mince
pie and coffee and you strike against the other rock.
' Tour skin looks just as clear for a while, but it
won't for long. By the time you have worn the combs
till the imitation diamonds begin to fall out your color
will have faded and your skin and lips will begin to
look the shade of putty, and the doctor will tell you
that you are anaemic and charge you a "dollar. Or
the chocolate eclairs will make the skin coarse and
bring out unhealthy blotches and turn the white of
the eye yellow. And in either case the system will
run down from what is called malnutrition which
means that you have not eaten food that nourishes,
And your prettiness is gone.
Then perhaps you go to and from your work on th
street car or in. the train, and you take a "thrilling"
story by Laura Jean Libbey, and in the crowded and
swaying car you try to read. This soon means crow's
feet at the corners, weak looking eyes . and then
glasses.
And instead of the novel, which brings oculist bills,
why not do as one bright little girl did, who always
carried a small book of good poetry, and memorized
a verse or two, with closed eyes, each trip? She found
the pretty, musical words rested her wonderfully after
a long day's work as they sang a little song in her
head to the rumbling of the car, and a glance now and
then at the book was all that was needed.
As you sit at your work have your chair well for
ward, so that you sit up straight. Do not lean for
ward. When you do you strain the muscles of the
spine holding the weight of the body at an angle. Let
the weight rest squarely n the seat, hold the shoulders
back and down. Every little while inhale to the full
extent of the lungs. This will help the heart action
and strengthen you.
All this means the care and "polishing" of that
jewel, your pretty face.
. And if you would have men admire you be gentle.
Men stare at the girls who are noisy in public places,
but they do not admire them, and your little ears
would sting if they could hear what is said about you.
All men respect the girl who keeps her little armor
t of reserve and girlish dignitr around her. They may
chaff and laugh at the other kind, but they do not
marry them.
Show these men that your character is as sweet and
dainty as your face is pretty. It is a very wonderful
and very precious gift this that nature has made you.
frost. Be nice and jolly, but hold your own." Then with
a momentary pity for the tired face she adds, "You'll
'learn."
The new girl hurries through crowded streets to her
boarding house. After dinner she and her roommate, who
is a cloak model, sit on the bed and talk it over.
She is very tired; the tension of the work, the absolutely
necessary control of the fingers, the varying temper of the
patrons have worn her out. She has felt all those before.
But the men they are a new trouble. She has half a mind
to leave.
The cloak model smiles; she is three years the older.
"It's all right; you'll learn."
She has a feeling that it isn't all right, but she gets a
pencil and paper and counts sixteen customers at twenty
five cents. She may make four dollars a day and tips.
No, she cannot afford to go back. And they say she will
"learn."
And she is learning. It isn't an easy task to mix a little
impudence with a great deal of discretion, to smile openly
yet guardedly, to look into the face of a leering man with
eyes grown suddenly blank and firm lips, to be animated,
sprightly, attractive, yet reserved as a sphinx and unap
proachable as an iceberg. It is worth even a salary of four
dollars a day, which you get sometimes and tips.
Part of that sum, as the girl well knows, must go away,
for the day is coming when no matter how expert she
has grown she must stop. As long as the slender form is
youthful, the soft cheek rounded, the hair black and fluffy,
the skin unwrinkled, she may stay, bur at the first touch
of time her occupation Is gone; even the head woman it
barely thirty. There is no place for a manicure who Is
old.
A charming portrait of an artist's model, painted from
life by Mr. Leo Mielziner, will be published next Sunday.