Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Herald, 1930-12-11, Page 7.Overwork or Worry Customs of Victorian Age Defended By Ludy Leconfield 'fiaxes the Health of 'Thousands of Young Girls. In the "teen-age" years when school or ofiiee' work is exacting aud outside activities .se up so much en- ergy,' many girls undermine their ,health and Spoil their happiness for years to come. At such a tithe Dr. Williams Pink Pills will be found most' valuable,, They purify and enrich the blood; build up the nerve tells and correct Tun -down oonditiono. Concerning them Miss Margaret Torrey, Indian Road, Toronto, Ont., says: "When I was attending high school I. suffered. a. complete breakdown. My heart would palpitate, at the least exertion; Icould not sleep and nothing I ate agreed. with me. I began taking Dr.4 Williams Pink Pills and before long 1 gained in weight and every dis- tressing symptom left .me." Dr. Williams Pink Pills are sold by medicine dealers or by mail at 50 cents a box from The Dr. Williams Medicine Co., Brockville, Ont. the 01111o1ine, I hold no brief for this ,gat' hent; it was in Most WAYS most objectionable, especially when sitting down in a hurry, or in attempting to enter a crowded carriage, but it had its points, as it allowed unfettered Says Girls Were Bound by Strut Rules, But Had Gay im.e$ liberty to one's legs, and I remember, and the Period Was One of Progress as a little girl, thinking it very coin- fortable for running in, It gradually altered its shape, became flat In front and finally merged. into tbe bustle of, the eigbties; but all this can best be studied in old fashion plates, as can; also • the fashions of evening gowns, which contrast much with those of the present day, much of what is now left bare being then covered, while the shoulders, 'now always concealed by at least a strap, were then always shown. A little cap was considered suitable in the morning for even a young matron and bonnets were al- ways worn in the afternoons in Lon- don even by young girls and, always •everywhere on Sundays; even the maidservants were forbidden to ap- pear in church in a hat. Progress of the Age So far I have written only of the 'SOs, and as I remember them; but it is well to realize that the Victorian age was not a stagnant pool, icebound in conventions and prejudices, as some now seem to think, but on the contrary a time of steady progress, not only in polities, science and plat- ters ecclesiastical, which would re- quire volumes to themselves, but in the manners and customs of which I write. One has only to look back up- on the last thirty years of Queen Vic- toria's reign to realize the changes that they brought. The white print, gilding and chintzes of the '60s gave way to Morris cretonnes, to green and even black paint, the taste for ma- hogany revived, and country shops and old cottages were ransacked for old furniture; the barouche gave place to the victoria and landau, the old chariots and coaches with coachmen on hammercloths and footmen behind were seen no more. The author of the following article, which appeared recently in the New York Times, is the widow of the first Lord Leconteld and a sister of the fifth Earl of Roseberry. She was born in 1846—nine years after Queen Vic- toria came to the throne—and had reached the age of 55 when Victoria died in 1901. Now, when s0 much is being written about the Victorian Age, she comes to its defense by placing on record her memories of some of its manners and customs. I feel compelled to write on this sub- ject because of all that I read in the I London except with a maid, nor even present day about the reign of ('•leen ,to go in E. four -wheeler without a foot - Victoria, written by those who per- Sia on theuntbox, An oI evens was, of haps scarcely remember the days of I remem- Edward VII., and who are pleased' to ber elderly ladies walking in the. park associate the word Victorian with all I with a footmafollowing, proceeding qualified ,that is ugly and uninteresting. I am member my grandparents qualified to speak, having been born to church with a footman • carrying before Queen Victoria had been nine the prii eebooksasoed cu, but stoms lane had uese wore then years • on the throne, and having oldied out after I grew up. reached the age of 65 before I saw Carriage exercise was a great fea- ture .in Victorian times, and I spent many long, afternoons of my youth in a" barouche, the large open carriage of those days. In hot weather the drive would sometimes be enlivened by a stop at Gunter's, where we sat comfortably; in, the carriage under the trees in Berkeley Square eating ices, but more often the day ended with a drive around the ?.'ark, then --as many can still remember --crowded egith car- riages open and closed, barouches on C -springs, sociables, chariots (with the coachman on a han.mercloth, the footman" hanging cn behind), four-in- hands driven by amateur coachmen with their friends clustering on the back .seats, the solitary male in a Phaeton of a cabriolet, sometimes even in a tandem, plum -pudding dogs run- ning behind thhe carriages of their owners, a royal carriage often to be seen making its way through the throng; all this gave the park a more festive appearance than the. rush of motors and taxis can do now. But let no one suppose that our pro- gress through the streets was unim- peded. When I read in the papers now about the traffic problem I re- member the half hours we often spent in trying to get round Hyde Park Cor- ner, or in struggling to get through the narrow neck of Park Lane. This was the only thoroughfare ` between that end of Piccadilly and Oxford Street, Hamilton Place being a cul de sac; and the turn from Grosvenor Place into Piccadilly being through a sharp angle, with traffic struggling to get through bd'th ways, and no police control, the consequences may be imagined. my young days. We returned alter each dance to stand in front of our mothers; and when it was first 'whis- pered that a girl had been seen sitting upstairs with a partner, the matter, it was felt, bad best not he talked. about In public, It would be hard for the present generation to realize how strict were the rules laid doWn for girls in those days. it would have been considered unthinkable for her to g� out with a man at any time un- less -engaged to him; indeed, girls were not allowed to walk out alone In Disappointment the accession of another sovereign. I Mrs. Golders was in conversation feel, therefore, that I can claim to with .a young married friend. know something of the manners and "Well, and how do you like your new customs of the period, seem she asked. To begin with, many now se m to "Oh, 1 suppose it's all right," came forget that other sovereigns reigned the reply from the young wife, "bat in the nineteenth century besides there's a young couple next door who , Queen Victoria. Much of the furni- quarrel all day." tare, for instance, now labelled Vic - "How very unpleasant that must be tartan, belongs to an earlier period, for you, to have to listen to that," said Mrs. Golders. "Yes," said the young wife, 'and the worn,. of it,is they're French, and my husband and I can't understand a word they say." GABBIE GERTIE !"Many. a woman cries because she feels better 'after the bawl is over'." Beginner's Luck Brows was trudging along the road, a smile of triumph oa his face, and his golf clubs swinging over his shoulder, when he was confronted by King, a fellow club member. "Hallo!" said King. "How acid you get on in your game today?" "Oh, not so badly," replied Brown. "I took sixty-three." "Sixty-threel" echoed King. "And you just a beginner 'Why, that's amazing." "Yes," said Brown. "I thought it was rather good myself. Tomorrow," he added, "I'ni going to try the sea and hole." as I can prove from a house furnished by my grandfather in 1819, which re- mained untouched during my youth. There you found the straight, hard backed armchairs and sofas ,now dub- bed Victorian, but in the '60s we had easy chairs and ,couches well stuffed with horsehair, kept down by buttons, and the prevailing taste was for light colors, white -painted furniture, and varnished wood for bedrooms, with bright, shiny chintzes for covers. Gilt and Plush Chairs Little gilt chairs found their way into drawing rooms, and silk -uphol- stered furniture, concealed by chintzes in the daytime, but uncovered for evening parties. Then came a craze for plush, for velvet -covered mantel- pieces, for brass nails, for fringes and tassels, for woohvork, for little velvet tables with twisted legs. It was a re- action from what was called the Ma- hogany Reign of Terror, and led to many sad acts of vandalism, old ma- hogany four-posters being cut down into half -testers, Chippendale chairs banished into servants' rooms, and I have heard of at least one industrious lady who painted a whole set of ma- hogany furniture gray with her own hand. I now turn to that oft -debated sub- ject—the girl of the period, of Whom I was one. I can assure the , public that we never fainted—unless from illness, that we rode, even hunted, that we walked (I admit in button boots), that we played games—though neither tennis nor golf; and if croquet be ob- jected to as being non -athletic, I would ask any modern girl to stand with a mallet in her hands, often for four hours at a stretch, in the hope of be- ing able, when her turn came, to drive a ball through an Iron beep. It was a test of endurance if not of active exercise. Dances and Chaperons We also really danced at balls. The two-step waltz of my youth carried one along much faster than the fox- trot, and there was no sitting -out in PREPAY E YOURSELF for positions in all departments of Investment Security and Stock Brokerage Houses, or in statistical, research, -analytical, advisory and security departments of Banks and Trust Companies, Insurance Com- panies and large industrial corporations. This institution offers a thorough, intensified training to fit students for the above positions. On completion of the course, the services of our placement department are offered free of charge. For full details, write ..-CANADIAN INSTITUTE OF FINANCE LIMITED Exclusively Investment Securities and Stock Brokerage Tr,ining TENTH FLOOR, CONCOURSE BLDG., TORONTO, ONT. " YOUR SCALES NEED FIXING" Said a Fat Woman—indignantly ' Better get these scales fixed," ex - Claimed a rather stout, fashionably dressed wom in maker age store ielnthe e ether day— they rounds too much." ' All of which goes to show," remarked the . goodnatured druggist, that Women take on fat so rapidly that they don't realize it." " If that woman doesn't�eatco gut " be continued, when in two Weeks from now, the scales will be wrong about 20 pounds." " Is there anything that will take off fat outside of three or four hours of l strenuous exercise every day ? " asked scholarly looking man who was i,eying a tube of ointment for his awe knee. • '+' Not many things,"ansWered the dispenser of drugs, but lately cher as been a big demand for a an ination of vitalizing mineral salts that of fat customers are enth- ildast c my about. It is called I1rusehen Salts and it :olust do the work for I can see for myself that many of thein are losing Weight." " It's an inexpensive way to take oft tacnnboieoasm if! for continued tUrwith big doses will last one person for 80 days." " Never heard of that treatment," said the scholarly looking man, " but I haven't any fat to lose anyway. " I've heard of it," chimed in a Well• built middle-aged man who had just come in. °` I was 15 pounds overweight —was getting fat ;and Iggiiv o Cius Mthe ucha Salts credit for ridding welcome excess baggage." "'they'll have your picture in the paper if you aren't careful," said the druggist laughingly. "No they Won't;'' replied the well- built matt, but I'm not backward ' about saying a good word for a good product, and .I can say in all sincerity that Iruschen Salts are good. Not only did they help me y to get doWn to normal weight, buti keep my bowels and kidneyst good condition and I m more vigorons and active than I have been for years." "That's good enough for me," saki the scholarly looking man. ": Glad yoti came in,", said tbe pro- prietor. " I'll tell my at customers what you said' Iiruschen Salts is obtainable at ail Drug Stores at 45c. sad 7i/o. per bottle. Pleasures of Youth It may be thought, after what nave written, that the girl -of the period had but a poor time, but youth generally manages to enjoy itself, and the Vic- torian maiden found a partner for life in spite of all -old-fashioned notions. At- balls, quadrilles and lancers— square dances as they were called— alternated with waltzes and gave op- portunities for conversation; supper also was enjoyed in tete-a-tete, then evening parties—drums as they were then called—garden parties (for some inscrutable reason called breakfasts), riding in Rater!. Row, where one's. chaperons often had a friend of their own and left one at liberty to talk to a friend of one's choice; all these a1 - lowed time for cultivating friendships, and the long afternoons spent in cro- quet did not discourage flirtation. The present generation also ignore all the agitations of a cotillon at the end of a ball, but here memory recalls the blank of an evening when no favors were received, so the subject has best not be dwelt upon. Then as to dress. Much "f the pity bestowed on us for our clothing is wasted. Do not let any one suppose that we walked out with our skirts hanging over our arms, as the modern maiden is said to have at Ascot this year. On the contrary, in the early sixties we had an arrangement by which we looped up our skirts over a bright -colored petticoat when we went out, and later on ankle -length skirts came into fashion for walking. I ad- mit that this involved a certain amount of toil. At a country house party you came •clown to breakfast with gloves an and in a long gown, changed into a short one for walking. Then began the fashion for tea-gowns—to be put on in the afternoon when you calve in, and dinner required yet another dress. Nothing, I admit, 'was ever shown above our buttoned boots. I remem- her one day in my early teens seeing my mother and her sister-in-law re- turning from a .walk and, bounding to- ward them, was received with looks of. grave displeasure. "My dear, young ladies do not show' their begs Iike that," said my aunt, No, hi those days we did not. Nor was sun-bathinge considered a necessity. The sun, when it appear- •ede shone on Its through oar clothing and no one invited us to take it off. Mrs. Grundy is supposed to be a pro- duct of the Victorian age, but I would point out that ever since the days of our first parents some form of gar- ment has been in use by the civilized, and it Is hard that we old people should be ridiculed because we still hold this view. ' Then the abuse that is heaped upon Minard'S Liniment for all ?aim Is There a Baby In Your Home? Is there a baby or young children in your home? If there is you 'should not be without a box of Baby's Own Tablets. Childhood ailments come quickly and means should always be at hand to promptly fight them. Baby's Own Tablets are the ideal home remedy. They regulate the bowels; sweeten the stomach; banish constipation and indigestion; break up cotds and simple fevers—in fact they relieve all the minor ills of little ones. Concerning them Mrs. leloise Cabotte, M:akamik, Que., writes: "Baby's Own Tablets are the best remedy in the world for little ones. My . baby suffered terribly from indi- gestion and vomiting, but the Tablets soon set her right and now she is in perfect health." The Tablets are sold by medicine dealers or by mail at 250. a box from The Dr. Williams Medi- cine Co., Brockville, Out. Lack of systematic brushing which our mothers and grandmothers gave their long tresses is said to be re- sponsible for young women of to -day having grey hair five years earlier than their mothers and ten years ear- lier than their grandmothers. The salmon -canning industry in Can- ada ,provides employment for 21,000 people. Earn $10,00 a day selling EASY A E BcheIor is the.• Iargest selling. • 1Oc agar in . . • Canada. Smoke one and, you will understand why. WILSON'S cH Tune in every Wednesday at 8 P.M., E.S.T. 9 P.M. Atlantic Time • Stations CKGW-Toronto a CJGC- London•CKAC-Montreal E Cigar STILL MOST FOR THE MONEY Not So Customary Fred met Dick on th i way to the station. "Good gracious, old man,' said Fred, "how did you manage to hurt your eye?" "It was done by a man whose wed- ding edding I attended as best man," Dick ex- plained. "Just because I kissed the bride." "But, my dear old man," exclaimed his friend, "it's the custom for the best man to kiss the bride." Dick put his hand to his injured eye. "Yes, I know it is,' be replied. "But this was five years after the cere- mony." Inhale Minard's Liniment for Asthma. On With the Gagne The village football match was about to commence, and the opposing captains were inspecting the ground. "Don't like it," said the visiting skipper, shaking his head. "What don't you like?' 'asked the home skipper. "The ground," replied the other. "Hardly a blade of grass to be seen." "Well, you didn't come 'ere to graze, did yer?" was the home skipper's re- tort. Canada' New Shaving Sensation No Soaping, Lathering, Brushing or Rubbing EAS15, SPEED and COMFORT Send 250 for standard trial tube and money back guarantee to EASYS8."-vB, Toronto, Ont. alit, _rLIEN CRY FO IT— HI]LDRIJN hate to take medicine as a rule, but every child loves the taste of Castoria. And this pure vegetable preparation is just as good as it tastes; just as bland and just as harmless as the recipe reads. When Baby's cry warns of colic, a 'few drops of Castoria has .firm soothed, asleep again in a jiffy. Noth- ing is more valuable in diarrhea, When coated tongue or bad breath tell of constipation, invoke its gentle aid to cleanse and regulate a child's bowels. In colds or children's diseases, you should use it to keep the system from clogging. c. Castoria is sold in every drugstore the genuine always bears Chas. 'letcher's signature. ASTORIA "There is nothing so satisfactory as a clear conscience." "No," answered Senator Sorghum; "and the next best thing is a good lawyer." BLACKHEADS Get two ounces of peroxine powder from cloth and thep face ebriskiy Every hot, blackhead will be dissolved. The one safe. sure and simple way to remove blackheads. Satisfaction guaranteed or money refunded. Wellington St.r W SCARFCO Toronto 422 A Santa Fe Ticket to Classified Advertising MIIALY pap r niailled fABLE ee. Add ess Friendship Magazine, Medina, New York. Milestone of the Arae Near Karachi, the Indian airport, is a wonderful "milestone' which indi- cates the way and distance by air to London, Bagdad, Bombay, Delhi, and Quetta. There are few goals too high for us to reach, providing we are willing to pay the price. California Will take you through Ph mix on Santa Fe rails "all the way" from Chicago and Kansas City.. You leave on the Santa Fe and arrive on the Santa Fe. Warm days in the desert and along a sunny seashore. •�• • Golf and horseback rid. ing keep the pep up and the' pounds down. • • • • Fred Harvey dining service another exclusive feature Make your Pullman reservations early. 8'. T. HENDRY, Gen. Agent 4AN'fA RV. LIO4 TranSpm`tatibn Bldg., DETROIT, IIICDL Phone; I andelph 8748 saw he "Chk f"f u's ihra o COUCF Sand COLDS "BUCKLEY'S' /rrL'�s hifleo i, elfeeeegeetereke King Frost nips at all unprotected parts. For frost bite, rub well with Minard's— it kills the pain—heals the injured tissue. DON'T SUFFER WITH DANGEROUS INDIGESTION Do you suffer after meals with a belching, from sour and acid stomach?, Many believe they have heart trouble and tremble with fear, expecting any minute to drop dead. This condition can be prevented, likewise relieved. Take Carter's Little Liver Pills after meals and neutralize the gases. Sweeten the sour and acid stomach, re- lieve the gas and encourage digestion. The stomach, liver and bowels will be cleansed of poison, painful and dangerous indigestion disappears an. the system enjoys a tonic effect. Don't pkg ao Carter's Lour ttle Liver Pills. for a 25e FRO MOT ER OF E1T[EN Read How This Medicine Helps Her Cardston, Alberta—"I am fifty-eight years old and the norther of eighteen living children,We live on afarm and. 1 am a very heal- thy mother con- sidering that I have such a big family to work for. The druggist first told nue about Lydia T. Pink- ham's Vegetable Compound and 1 have depended on 'it for many years. When I had this picture taken, the photographer was telling me about his wife's ailments and after 1<. told him about the Vegetable Compound he went to the drug store and bought her two bottles."—Mas, Bra'rna. SALLniI'. uAcn, Ss., Cardston, Alberta. ISSUE No. 49-230