The Little Vanities of Mrs. Whittaker: A NovelWinter, John Strange
General
The Little Vanities of Mrs. Whittaker: A Novel
Winter, John Strange
Domestic fiction; England -- Social life and customs -- Fiction; Married women -- Fiction
"Are there such people?"
"Oh yes. You say you like simple diet, and take all sorts of starchy
foods and think that makes your skin fine and clear. My dear lady, it is
not the milky foods you take, the bread and butter and cream and the
extra two lumps of sugar in your tea that make your skin fine and clear;
it is simply that you were born with a fine skin, and have been doing
everything you could to ruin it during the whole of your life."
"You think that under diet my skin will regain its normal beauty?"
"Of course it will. If you put yourself into proper hands, you won't
know yourself. When I say 'proper hands' I do not mean my own. My
business is connected entirely with the hair, nothing else, but I know
who are skilled in all matters of diet. I will give you the name and
address of a doctor in Harley Street who will charge you a fixed sum for
your course, and who will give you the smallest and closest directions
for getting rid of your superfluous fat without making you in the least
bit skinny or withered."
"I am very grateful to you," said Regina; "I wish I had not gone to
Madame Polson. Not that two guineas is a matter of very great
importance, but I hate being done."
"Of course you do, all nice, sensible people do. But you will not take
those tablets, will you?"
"Not in the face of what you have told me. Will you give me the address
of the doctor in Harley Street? I will go to him now."
"You cannot go to him now; you see it is past his hours--you have been
here so long. Let me give you a cup of tea."
"You are very kind."
"And you will let me do your hair for a week?"
"Yes, I will come every day for a week. Tell me, how do you charge for
your treatments?"
"Well, we give so many for a guinea. A simple treatment is brushing it
and arranging it in the ordinary way. Shampooing is extra, the combs are
extra, the frame is extra, and waving the hair is again another charge.
We will put your treatment to-day at a lump sum--half-a-guinea. You
should take another guinea's worth of simple treatments--that is to say,
I will brush your hair every day for a week, wave it and dress it like
this for a guinea. After that, if you come to me once a week you will
find that your hair will be kept in perfect condition. Occasionally you
will care to have a shampoo, but that is as you feel. I have many
clients who never have their heads touched except with my hair brushes."
"But about my toque? I cannot go out like this. I must put my hair back
to-day. I _must_ get home."
"I never like," said Madame Florence, "I never like to recommend special
means if my clients are restricted in the way of money. I--er--it is the
season of changing one's clothes; you will be buying new toques?"
"Oh yes."
"We have another business--nothing to do with me--but another business
is run under this roof," said Madame Florence. "Would you care to see
some toques?"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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