Page:Every Woman's Encyclopedia Volume 1.djvu/738

 BEAUTV 710 Certainly the life here was a great change from that of wealth and pleasure she had been accustomed to lead ; but it suited well with the tenor of her thoughts. She who had reigned, and might have done so still, preferred to make Chateaubriand the centre of everything, to devote herself to making him happy, and encouraging him in his work. Before long, there was a literary centre in the abbaye, to the full as important, if more quiet, than that of the Rue du Mont Blanc. Politics were eliminated, or treated in a detached fashion ; conversation was kept general by the tact of the hostess, and the gatherings were always small. All the most notable men and women of France and Eng- land went to the dull old convent ; the court- yard rang with voices. Madame Recamier received it all quietly, her thoughts fixed on well-doing, and on the welfare of her famous friend. She was ready now, as always, to exert every nerve to help anyone, whether he were an exiled prince or a poor fisherman. Her Charm and Beauty Her beauty she always kept in a great degree, largely because she made no attempt to hide her age, but more because so much of her loveliness rested in her expression of goodness. The rest of her story is one of unfaltering devotion. When her sight failed, she was chiefly concerned because she could no longer be of the same use to Chateaubriand. His death, and that of several old friends, shook her sadly, but she was never lonely, as some people are when they leave youth behind, for her power over hearts remained till the end, and when she was well on in the fifties she could still attract and keep the love of even quite young men. Although Chateaubriand held the first place in her heart, she had plenty of kindness and affection for her otheij friends. It is significant, by the way, that even in light-hearted, frivolous Paris, no breath of scandal ever sullied the purity and beauty of her devotion to Chateaubriand. Beloved Always and By All When his wife died, he begged her to marry him ; but this beautiful grey-haired lady, thinking of others always, refused. She said his one pleasure was coming to see her, and she feared he would lose this little excitement if she married him. In the end, she was carried off suddenly by cholera — a disease of which she had always had a horror. Thus ended the life of a woman so sweet and kindly that in her salons men of every opinion could meet in friendship ; who, as said one of her women friends, was " beloved always and by all from her cradle to her grave. . . . What other glory is so enviable ? " BEAUTY CULTURE FOR WOMEN Continued from page S9S, Part s Moo 60 TME CARE OF NECli m SMOULDERS The Neck Quickly Shows Age— How to Whiten the Neck— Home'inade Creams and Lotions— The Ideal Neck and How to Acquire It— Well-shaped Shoulders— A Simple Beauty Exercise for the Neck The constant use of high collars causes undue perspiration, which, coming into con- tact with the dye of the material, forms a real eneftiy to the healthy texture of the skin it unavoidably acts upon. The consequence is that most of us end by feeling obliged to wear high neckbands in the daytime, as so few of us have that beauty attributed to Annie Laurie, whose neck was like the swan's. The Use of Oatmeal Unless we are quite young, and very fair, too, how many of us could venture to wear the day-dress of our great-grandmothers ? Who could fold white muslin in a demure fichu-fashion across the breast, and have no fear at the neck's rising out of a snowy surrounding. We can, however, compromise by wearing A GREAT many women never pay attention to the culture of beauty, so far as the neck and shoulders are concerned, until their chance of beauty is almost gone. Then they are forced to admit that they look " scare- crows " in evening-dress. The Bad Efrects of High Collars The neck, however, shows as much as the face, and if care is taken of the face whilst the neck is neglected, the contrast between them is gradually enhanced, till the beholder assumes the neck to show the natural complexion and the face the acquired one. Considering, also, the disadvantage which day-dress imposes upon the neck, and the readiness with which it tells the tale of age and neglect, it is indeed important that it ihculd receive daily attention.