Ethel went swimming with stockings on, it seems; hard to tell with Grace.

Note the term "Constant Reader," now applied to Stephen King fans. It was the name of Dorothy Parker's book review column before that, but she didn't start until 1927. I don't know where it came from originally, but I doubt it meant "continual." Probably was used in the "Faithful" sense - a usage that's as common today as "number" for a magazine.