SOME MODERN GRAZES.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLIV, Issue 3, 5 January 1910, Page 3

SOME MODERN CRAZES.

A little group of women in London find their recreation and amusement in the study of the occult. Ancient tomes of ponderous size and of deep learning are constantly read and carefully digested. The members of the small, but select, society • meet from time to time for the discussion of subjects abstruso and, to the average mind, uttorly uninteresting. Their pursuits ..Trr> simply a form of occalti.Rm onrriff] n trifle further than tho«o n"r f!,, or^innrv investigator, and thrvv fi:vl Ilifivi nVorbine.^ To womr-rt ■-•'.ulsifT^ -:.-\ f]><Mr (in-n circle, it v-'^V* .-T>:i!';-^-.c<';. /Ivy 'i.m '-nnHMvJiat wo-n/i-cw''l, f-:i '-onynrs-ntirvM i:; always

brought to bear on the beliefs or the

evil deeds of far-off ancestors and a ! comparison with the present-day eon- ) ditions. The recent interest in mat- ] ters pertaining to the occult sciences>

• certainly suggests that there has ! scarcely been a time . in which the ' supernatural received, more simple ere- ; dence than at the present^jnoirient. I The number of women^who constantly I consult palmists and "who believe all j,that is told to them, is amazing.. The i reading of hands occupies" most of tsjse j leisure hours of many women, and i coteries are held of an afternoon, for ■ which palmists are engaged, so that ; they may foretell the future to their credulous clients. The vogue for palmistry has done a good deal in the j way of inducing women -to have ; special care bestowed on their hands, ' and half an hour or so spent with the ' manicurist is one of the important ' engagements of the day. j Bridge has. not ceased .to bring \ groups of women together,' and the ! hours spent over this game frequently . run into three or four of an afternoon. The woman who is a good bridge player finds that her amuse- ' ment yields her quite a pleasant hari vest; for she is in great demand. A i stranger : entering into some social | circle finds very soon that her.engage-ment-book is easily filled, not only with bridge dates, but with dinners, lunches, motor expeditions, weekends, and so forth. Many hostesses hesitate now to make up their parties except as a rendezvous of bridge players. Time was when the woman who could sing or who was a pianist, or willing to play accompaniments, found that her hobby provided her with a "passe partout." That, however, is alKchanged, and a complete alteration has taken place in the accomplishments that render a guest popular.

The art of small talk is one that many women try to cultivate, and there ar© 'instances of clever talkers who find employment as exponents of the art "of light conversation. Their method is to read the newspapers daily, to keep, in touch with the latest books, to know, something special about all the new plays, and to invent small scraps, of information .iust bordering on the scandalous. :> While the society woman is undergoing treatment at the hands of the hairdresser, her expert conversationalist sits by her side and chats, as it were:casualLy, *on the subjects of the moment^ so that her bon-mots may be remembered for repetition. , :