The herald. [microfilm reel], April 05, 1896, Image 21

About The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900

Image provided by: University of California, Riverside; Riverside, CA

                
NOTHING
(Copyright IMS, by Bacheller, Jolmnon ft Butwller.)
Broadlawns Is ninth like Us owner,
Hllltard himself—a tit expression of his
origin, his character, his culture. It Is
largo, dlgnlflcil. a little sombre, but no
ble. Just as he is gonial, though Im
posing, so the groat bouse is a home, not
a castle nor a hall- although It is im
mense in the size nnd number of its
rooms, nnd in the length to which its
low front aud ells extend along the vel
vet lawn. This lawn, too, is a town-site
In itself and lies enclosed In a pretty
landscape of woods, so artistically plan
ned as to suggest that It must be miles
Sway from the oity which iv fact sur
rounds It behind a mere screen of forest.
At his wife's reception in the tine rays
Of Spring or Autumn, the throng of call
ers easily disposes of Itself In the spa
ciousness of the place, bo as to give no
more than a needed touch of variety and
color to the majestic, park-like domain.
This lady, by the way. is also a fitting
figure for tile great establishment, ample
in her fine blooming physique—rather
too much so, indeed—hospitable, and ca
pable in administering Its detail of man
agement, an excellent mother of two
budding daughters and three younger
children, besides keeping up fairly well
with her husband's interests iv letters
smd tbe world of society in the nearby
city—a healthy, happy, practical, busy
.woman.
Her radiation of cheer is a prime neces
sity for the guests, as the Master of
Broadlawns is habitually distrait aud
sad. Yes, this lordly patrimonial park
has become to bim as nothing—its superb
WW terrace, tesselated with old Spanish
tiles and flush with the matchless lawn.
Its bosky dells, its lakelet laden with
lilies, its far-famed conservatory, the
Winding avenues with here and there
old elms so placed as to form English
etchings whatever way you look—all are
nothing. Nothing,—even the grand flam
boyant hostess with all her avoirdupois
is nothing. The deservedly Idolized lord
of all, with the Wealth and health of for
tunate generations summed up in his
sturdy six feet of manhood, is the only
one, save a single neighbor, who knows
how empty it all Is to its possessor.
Xc listens absently, replies sentcn
tlously, though politely, and if let alone,
relapses into abstraction. His bored
look. Is, Indeed, remarked by most peo
ple, and explained by men of tho world
to be the satiety of one who has been
born to everything.has been everywhere,
lias seen everything and had everything.
By men In his own lino of literary and
artistic pursuits, it Is attributed to
disappointed ambition; by women, to
the figure and fashions of madam. To
any intimate who has had the hardihood
to probe too closely—even to his best
friend, his family physician, Dr. Pal
frey—Billiard has always replied when
Asked if be had any ailment or anything
on his mind, "Nothing, nothing, I tell
you!"
Well, it Is next to nothing—nothing at
all, measured by any ordinary human
means of estimating It.
Only this: Fifteen years ago, when his
tall and solid daughters were tots in
short clothes, the distinguished and wil
lowy figure of the lady of yonder house
that looks so like Mariana's moated
Branee8 ranee- ahr- —+1. —.- <>...; tvmcvu
ses from the lily pond, crossed the vis
lon ot Broadlawns heir. •
Mrs. Henry Is an artist.and paints with
the devotion of a professional, Ihough
she Is an heiress of untold wealth. Every
thing about her Is studied with an ar
tist's keenness for effect, and she has al
her command the resources of a brill
iant mind nnd broad culture. Her
honse. fronting Broadlawns was design
ed by herself, and with an eye to presor
ting, Instead of intruding upon tho ef-
MBS. HENRY WAS A STRANGE. DELIGHTFUL POSTER FIGURE, IN
~ _ EFFECT.
feet Of unity in ths landscape of the
(treat estate. The studio was made the
dominant feature of her house, its broad
windows taking up halt the second story
of Its southern front. For the. rest, it Is
ss exquisite in its suggestions of its own
er's aesthetic Individuality as the solid
grandeur of its neighbor is of Billiards.
Her husband has never been nn impor
tant factor In Mrs. Hehry's house or
life. A prosperous wholesaler younger
than herself, with a merchant's conven
tional respectability In ideas, manners,
and morals, there has been nothing ever
to complain of in him, or to give him
the least savor of any kind. So, Mr. S.
P. Henry may be permitted to drop out
of this drama.
At th* time tho drama opened, the
strange, delightful colored-poster figures
of Japan via Paris had not been invent
ed; but Mrs. Henry was one, In effect.
Her trained gowus, her head dress out
of the Old Masters, her beautiful long
wraps, Were cither meant to make of
bet a picture, or to form a part of the
composition in which she was to figure.
Was it a field of uubroken snow, with
perhaps a purpling fringe of shrubs or
saplings, that she was to cross to make
her morning call atßroadlawus—for that
environment black velvet would be her
only wear. Was it. a spring morning,
grey with mist, with the leafage and
turf of the tenderest green—to strike the
heavily trimmed with white fur. Her
indoor costumes were framed to pro
long the effect of her tine, long, regular,
Italian-like features, and never bore the
slightest relation to anything of. Paris
ian modiste's make; save when Sarah
Bernhardt was setting the fashions of
tho hour, for was not Sarah a painter
and sculptor like hei'self?
Well, one morniug, as the towering,
manly bulk of Milliard and the stained
glass figure of Ml* Henry were leaning
on the opposite sides ot the turnstile be
tween their places—while Mr. Henry,
good business soul, was shaving himself
at quarter past seven in order to take
the quarter past eight train, and Mrs.
Ililliard was iv her nursery—it occurred
to tjie two artists (who often found an
early morning consultation necessary to
settle some question of aesthetics) that
If he were to plant a tall, straight Lom
bardy poplar on his side of the turnstile,
and she a weeping birch with its fine
feminine drnpery on her side, the two
would "compose" to absolute perfection.
It also occurred to both as this memorial
of their joint work grew, the virile pop
lar would bo touched by tho trembling
birch; and then it occurred to them that,
like their trees, tbey two were "counter
parts," the one the perfect complement
of the other, made for each other on high
and only separated by a hedgerow.a stile
and sundry conventions, perhaps neces
sary for the common ruu of humanity.
But this was Nothlug.
Still it sufficed ever afterwards, year
LOB ANQELES HERALD i SUNDAY MORNINft,
NEW YORK'S FASHIONABLES TAKING THEIR DAILY TOOMENADE ON EIETH AVENUE.
after rear, to make everything Nothing
for each, the oilier being absent. Only
when they were bending their heads to
gether in the solution of problems in
art and letters whioh tliey alone—and to
gether— oonld comprehend,did they real
ly live. Mrs. Milliard might be iv ihe
dining room eating bread and honey
with her children or receiving callers in
money—lhey did not consider all that
any part of existence that made lire
worth living. The duties required of
them in their households and in society
they got through somehow, but the only
relish iv anything tor either was when
the other was sharing It.
And yet it is with the most discreet in
freqdonoy that, they are to be soun to
gether by themselves, although they are
in truth walking hand In hand every
step through every day of their lives.
So long as they know the whereabouts
of each other, when they can see one
'another across a room, or even across
the fields from their windows, they are
measurably ooutent; when they cannot,
they aro restless, waiting. looking, won
dering, paralysed for eitherplayof work;
miserable—only the more miserable for
their wealth, futile to free them. Yet
there is nothing that the servants, most
vigilant of detectives, have ever talked
about. Absolutely Nothing!
Still, every morning a glass of fresh
flowers on the window-sill of Milliard's
studio is the greeting returned by the
opening of a window In the studio over
the stile. Every night the turning up
of a light in Hilliurd's studio sends a
"Good Night" across his lawn to a cur
tain iv the other, whioh has beou raised
to receive it, and then is lowered in ans
wer.
It: Is Nothing, ami yet neither can sleep
if it be missiug now.
I surprised uininrd ouo day when ho
was distinctly not bored. It was at a
live o'clock and private view at a stu
dio in town. The little company had gn
thered half unconsciously about him,
fascinated to silence in listening to his
animated observations, so rare of late,—
the wise, broad, witty, penetrating, yet
generous way in which he disposed of
pretenders to the art hero truly exempli
fied. Mrs. Henry was his companion,
dressed iv a dark velvet gown, coming
high about net slender throat. I lor pale,
long, distinguished face, was glowing
like a lily in bloom. Her eyes could not
conceal her delight in tho rapt deference
paid to Milliard. But it was Ihe coin
ing half-hour together iv the Carriage on
the homeward drive that was exalting
both till Ihey were already fioaliug In
the only heaven they dreamed of or
cared for.
Nothing? Is it nothing, that in those
days, two, with every resource at their
free command, two for whom all tin 1
rest of the world is nothing, hold them
selves nobly in hand, unwilling that
other hearts than their own shall he
wrung, resolved that no mode shall be
borne by others for their sakc.eonvinoeil
that no* such shock as they might give
it were they to fly from their orbits,
should be borne by a social order al
ready staggering under accumulated
scandals?
Nothing? Is there anything loftier,
saintlicr, more heroic than such sacri
fice, such abnegation, such crucifixion
of self for others? In saints and heroes
of the storied past do we call such re
nunciation Nothing?
Silt ribbons arc used iv tho court nf
Victoria to hold newspaper clippings de
signed for the royal perusal. Sho never
sees the papers In their original state.
They are carefully perusbed by an offi
cial, who cuts out what he thinks will
please her. pins the clippings on the rib
bons, aud lays them on her table.
THE WOMAN OF FASHION.
As She Appears on New York's Most
Fashionable Thoroughfare,
Skiif. Are Narrower and Require
Less Material—The.lackcl Reigns
Supreme, But tho Itonnil
Waist. Is Not Banished Vet
—Reveres and ICpaulcis
Indispensable.
Some of the now fashions are hideous
examples of (lie evil of trying to be two
things at once. This is particularly no
ticeable in the matter of sleeves. There
lias boon a sort of sleeve panic among
tho promulgators of fasliiou.
"Out up your old balloons;" they say.
"and make a half dozen new sleeves of
them, foe the day of tho discovery of the
arm is at hand."
By such prophecies as those they have
set the world all agog, and every Ixidy
has gone to surmising as to whether this
revolution in women's costumes is really
threatening us or whether it Is only a
kind of war scare like some of those
Which have recently set our navy to
drilling and out' boys to Iteming battle
songs.
The real truth of the sleeve question is.
that they are just a liltlo less extrava
gant than they were last year. But they
are not the glove-fitting arm tights tit
ten years ago. notwithstanding some of
Ihe pictures which certain Loudon de-
Signers have sent over here for adoption
by those unwitting Americans who fly
at the lirst light that flickers Up from
the oilier side. These people who are
always "the Hist by whom the new is
tried" usually find themselves burdened
with gowns and other things which have
pmved either too eccentric or too com
mon for tiie well dressed woman to ap
pear in.
Toe London sleeves are good instances
of the attempt to straddle the question.
They are tight all the way up with some
rUflleH al the shoulder, or at the elbow,
and they are simply hideous. There is
no possibility tint any Woman ololhed in
her right mind will supplement her attire
Willi any such abominations. They are
nothing less than freaks the products of
the evolutionary process of development
—Which a tew freaks of the geuus homo
may wear long enough to connect the
former species with the latter, but whioh
will go out of existence before anybody
realizes that they have been with us.
Tho gigot. sleevo thttt is light lo tho el
bow and then bulges out into R moderate
sized puff will be the street; sleeve for
early spring. But "for gowns of cere
mony, for dinners, soirees, conceits, etc..
the balloon puff will continue in favor,"
so saith the Krottoh oracle. Chiffon drap
ed sleeves are not to bo relegated to the
garret or the "old clo's" man yet. They
are altogether too dear to the feminine
heart to be discarded even nt the edict
of the oracle.
One small sleeve that may find favor
as tbe summer progresses into autumn
is the kind that tits the arm to a point
several inches above tho elbow nnd is
flien draped to, or rather from, the
shoulder with a puff of not very large di
mensions. This sleeve is relieved of Its
excessive sllmnesi by wrinkling the out
side material oat'a plain lining. Such
sleeves are usually very long extending
over the back of tho hand In extreme
eases. r
There are two other important modifi
cations of the feminine costume whicli
it. is well to remember in the purchase
of materials for spring aud summer
gowns. Skii-ts are just a shade narrow
er than they were last season. Five
yards a round is a very good width.
Round waists continue to be worn but
they are in the minority and will gWW
more and mure so as ihe season ad-
HttUaa . Xcarlv M : jwvf!il'w,A» 1 , u; ,,
waist, ti la Olga Nethersolo. is lamenting
tiie advent of ''those horrid basques,
but there are too many tall girts iv the
fashionable world to kqep (he basques
and jackets out.
Some of Hie most fascinating jackets
With vest fronts are made of velvet.
An old rose pink li a favorite shade, and
thus, combined 'with a tinsel brocade iv
the vest, and a silk brocade in the skirt
makes an exquisite costume. Thin is the
sort of costume that admits of the jew
elled belt which is so much the rage, ex
cept that in place of the tinsel vest there
is a full front of lace or embroidered
chiffon which is gathered in at the waist,
Many wear these bolts over outside jack
ets. A lamb's wool coat (hat was quite
loose was belted in a little below the
waists with an ornamental belt that
brightened up an otherwise sombre cos
tume.
Kevers have returned to us along with
the Jackets, and wo stall bo all ready for
the shirt front aud necklie or the summer
girl when June comes arouud again.
The jacket, however, Is with us now, as
can be seen any day by taking a prome
nade hi» Fifth avenue. Now York. Hero
is the phtce Whet* one Bees the woman
of fashion as she is—hot as she is pic
tured in the fashion sheets that come
from London or Taris. Hero is Where
eccentricities and extravagances are
toned down to something that real people
can wear, without fear of being taken
for living circus posters.
Thi! jacket costume can bo Worn with
out au outside wrap, a great advantage
in the early spring when it is too cold to
wear the ordinary dress on the street.
There is opportunity for the addition of
a eliamois jacket underneath the vest
front, and this is sufficient protection
against ordinary blasts at I his time of
year. One of the most striking costumes
pictured in our daily sooue on Fifth ave
nue was ohe that shaded on Ihe terra
cotta. It was trimmed on both jacket
and skirt with applique embroidery.
Tho jacket was rather short, and had a
high collar whicli added greatly to its
warmth. Front the nock iuing a volum
inous jabot of white lace, which by the
way is ono of tho .characteristics of 11io
spring stylos. Make your gown any way
you please, with round waist or Jacket,
big sleeves or little, aud then when it is
done stick a fluff of lace Under your chin
and you are in fashion. This costume
had also lace flounces tit. the wrists aud
a Cascade of lace around the muff.
A charming girl who walked inside the
weaver of the costume just described
wore one of the new box jackets, thnt
fit at the neck and at the wrists hut no
where else—aud yet they aro pretty. This
particular jacket was trimmed to simu
late a narrow yoke witli gimp passemen
terie whioh also extended around the
bottom of the coat. There were epaulets
over the shoulders that looked like long
rovers pushed up from the waist and
away from the front Revers and epaul
ets are almost necessities to the spring
costume.
Ready made revers are sold, all ready
spangled or embroidered for sewing to
the jacket with which they are to be
worn. Many of these rovers are made of
satin and embroidered with gold or sil
ver tinsel. The white satin ones aro
very rich. I looked for some made of
grass linen and I found them. It makes
no difference what sort of thing .you are
looking for, you are sure to find at least
mo sample of grass linen. *
' The spring capes are hanging back
a. little. I was beginning to thiul; there
weren't goiug to be any. but there was
one among ihe Fifth avenue promena
dors, and I believed in them again. This
one was quite full, had a point laoo ap
plique yoke, and I wo strips of ribbon
down the front with a bow at each end.
Df.IQBMP .tlllV c,, fffl A .WfVv .W >fe«*Blr%
there isn't much to be seen of a woman's
face, but there's some advantage in that
—for some women.
ANNIE LAURIE WOODS.
SWEET POTATO WHISKY.
•J. W. ("row of Augusta, (in.. ha« a
small bottle of sweet Batata whisky that
Is a very interesting commodity in that
section of ihe country, ami not a famil
iar one to the world at large. The liquid
Is crude and white, ns all new whisky
is. but. it is (hi- genuiue old stuff, and
not a counterfeit. Among the homcseek-
AN" EASTER GARDEN.
era wlio havo been In tlutt section lately
Vrofl Mr. Hansbttrg, a CJevuiaii, who is
skilled In the distillation of spirits. When
he saw how abundantly sweel potatoes
wore raised in that section of the coun
try it occurred to him that he could dis
till whisky from them. Several bushels
uf swop! potatoes wove shipped to him.
iUtd wmn Mike Brown received a half
gallon of sweet potato whisky. As a re
sult of the success of the Scheme ar
rangements are being m*,d« to distill the
lhltwv for Commercial purposes. If the
residue enn he converted in1o starch the
sweet potato will soon become one of
the most valuable products of southern
soil.
MARRIED BY HER MOTHER.
A very odd wedding occurred a few
days ago at the residence of Rev. Mary
T. Whitney in Boston. Tho groom was
Rev. Cart G. Horst, the pastor of the
Second Unitarian church of Athol. Mass.
The bride was Miss Emily Aitkin of Bos
ton, and the officiating minister was
Rev. Martha C. Aitkeu, mother of the
bride. Cases where a father marries
his daughter are not infrequent, but this
is. perhaps, the only instance on record
where a mother has married her daugh
ter.
A PRETTY EASTER GARDEN.
An Attractive KoTsltj for a Ohuroh Fair
or Similar Occasion.
STJBE TO PLEASE THE OHILDMH.
Hay Be Caed as a Center-Pleo* tor m
Candy Table, or Developed smb.
a Larger Scale.
Easter, as well as Christmas, brings
out each year noveltie# to please little
folks and their elders. The Easter Out
den here described, devised by a GetfflAA
lady to please her own children, wotJld
be a most attractive device, arranged on
n lai ger scale for an Easter sale, or HWsM
serve, in its present form, aa a new and
pretty decoration for the centre of the
candy table.
The hill is formed ot a board propped
behind so as to rest in a sloping position,
then covered with a layer of wadding,
gummed to the wood, and this again
with green crepe paper to represent
grass; the same paper is also laid oft the
flat surface of the table upon which the
board rests. The arbor is formed Of a
scaffolding of wooden skewers cover
ed with moss. All kinds of dried grasses
and artificial flowers can be arranged
about the arbor and on the top and aide*
of the hill. The hares can be bought at
the toy shops and the confectioners. One
fat fellow draws a ladeu wagon, made
of woven straw, with pasteboard wheels,
another pushes a wheel-barrow filled
with eggs. Two. dressed as peasant
women iv silk skirts and white blouses,
cany hampers up and down the hill
side, while a little fellow with two empty
ones Is running toward the store-house
in the arbor. At the light, under an um
m-ella-slinpcd canopy—which may be of
either straw or crepe paper—ornameu
led at tha top with two bright-hued Jap
anese fans. Is a small basket containing
some especially pretty eggs. Beside It is
a baby hnre leaning against a broken
egg-shell, and sugar and chocolate eggs
of different colors and sizes are scattered
about on the iurf at the bottom of the
hill. Children would take great pleasure
in buying the eggs and confectionary
from the turf and the baskets csrled by
the hares; and the hampers might bear
labels giving the prices of the eggs or
bonbons contained in them.
PLAGUE OF RATS AND MICE.
Russian Provinces Overrun With tho
Pests 11 ml Crops Destroyed.
Such a plague as civilized man never
experienced has, during tho past two
years and a half, afflicted tho people of
ooriain provinces of Russia. It hs a
plague of rats and mice. Ii has caused
tremendous damage io property, and, in
some instances, endaugorod tb> lives of
t lie people. So abnormal has Ores the
increase of the pestiferous rodents in cer
tain localities in the agricultural dis
tricts that the afflicted provlnees have
literally been swept clean of grain in
both Held and granary. Having do.
slroyed the crops, the little animals have
invaded dwelling houses and. in score*
of oases, ruined them as places of abode.
Heroic measures were adopted by the
inhabitants to rid themselves of th?
plague. Colonies of cats and tender dogs
were Imported into the districts, but af
ter a Utile while neither tho eats uor tlis
dogs would pay the slightest attention
to the rodents. The government was
U'e.n.anijoalpd tojiylive snfferlng
nent bacteriologists were employed by
the government tn devise plnus to iuoc«
ulate the rodents with infectious disease
and so successful were Ihny that the rate
and mice died by the million. By this
means the plague was practically stamp
ed out early lasi summer,
Tho numerous stories related by Con
sul Heenan of how and why, in the
opinion of tho people, the army of ro
llouts swarmed oror the fields, country
houses ami village dwellings! the indif
ference'to their presence Shown by both
oats and dogs, and the absolute refusal
of the eats and dogs to molest the ny
(huts would form a chapter more senti
mental perhaps than instructive. Th*
peasant ry believe Mint the mice under
take extensive migrations en masse uu
der foreboding of impending failure of
crops in tliose localities whore the mice
originated. »
Consul Heenan says that millions ot
the animals were drowned iv the wells
aud rivers, and that, therefore, the pop
ulation ot the afflicted localities wna
obliged to discontinue the use of water
from tho wells and to abstain from fish,
particularly pike, as food, because it
was discover that they contained mice.
—Cleveland Leader.
RUNNING TO SEED.
"'Lizabeth," said Farmer Cornroe, lay*
ing aside his weekly paper, "is there any
more fly-leaves in the Bible?"
"Yes."
"Aa' is all that pokebeny ink gone?"
"Not quite."
"Got or goose quill 'bout the house?"
"i think so; wliat are you goln' ter do?"
"Goiu' to write to New Orleans tut a
peek o' that new kind o' Mardi Gms seed
tltat the papers is talkin' so much erbout;'
want ter try it in tho lower bottom Herds
fur early pasture."—Washington Time*.