Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1883-05-06
GOSSIP FOR GIRLS.
apme Rival Ladies In New YORK
Society.
CHAT FROM the cHATTEasoS
The Sarcastic CHA Mistaken Marriage
Brides Treusseaa-An Cd Bridal
Oess-GAoiee Chit Chat
TWO RIVALS N SOCIETY.

Mrs. Burton Harrison is sociat lad
er in this city, saSs "esAra Belle IN net
New York letter. MIS-. CORTLAND Pal
mer is another. There Is an interesting
rivalry between them. Both have
taken to literary ways. Each 10 en-
drayoring to I've the center OF bigger
and brighter circle Of brainy people
than the other. Mrs. Harrison's first
effort Put her way ahead. She gave
series of readings. OF course she did
not read herself. 1t is with other folks
talents that she and Mrs. Palmer made
their display. The elocutionists whom
she attrs ctcd TO her parlors were Mrs.
Franc, S Hodgson Burnett, Henry James,
Allan Thorpdyke Rice, Edgar Fawcett,
Julian Hawthorne, and Others who
could read from their own successful
hooks. These performances naturally
go, paragraphs in the newspapers, and
Mrs. Harrison was very proud. l have
no doubt that Mrs. Palmer was cores
pondiDgly depressed. But she rose
b,Ioyantly to the occasion With the
help of her husband, who i, religiousiy,
q free-thirker Of note, she organized the
Nineteenth Century club, for the pur-
pose of pbilosophizing Oh live subjects.
The first meeting carried her far to the
front of Mrs. Harrison. The company
that asst mbled was not composed, as
TO men, OF a lot Of chronic cranks such
as usually do the talking in reformstory
caucuses, but were mostly heavy
weights in literature and science. Prof.
Summer came from Yale college to
make the principal address, and We
women posed as prettily as we could IN
attitudes of intense interest, though we
didn't know what il was all about, nor
how vastly important it was until We
saw whole columns of ii in print next
morning. Well, il was Mrs. Harrison's
turn to sink into the depths of despair,
and to bounce up toa great achieve
ment. She translated one of Scribe's
plays from the French her detractors
say that she hired il done formed
company of amateurs to appear in 1t,
had them drilled by an actor, and pro-
duCed the piece one afternoon at the
Madison Square theatre. The costumes
were of the choicest possible sort and al
together the affair was a great society
event In spite of that, however, Ms.
Palmer was not permanently left be-
hind. She kept right on with her
meetings of the Nineteenth Century
club. in her mansion on Creamery
park, and succession Of nOtables did
such good talking that she secured
space in the daily journals every time.
Then Mrs. Harrison make move ia
the same direction. She got contriUu-
tious from dozen well.known journal
ISIS, and put them in a paper which she
called The EphsmerOn. The sheet was
read TO 4 gathering in her house by
professional elocutionist, and then
beautifully printed copies were given to
the guests. This was hit a. far as 1t
went, but did not reach the general
public. Just then a stroke Of luck
came to Mrs. Harrison. The manage
ment of the Madison Square theatre
accepted her play, which had been
named "A Russian Honeymoon, for
regular production. This house, be it
known, i, the ultra fashionable theatre
of New York. Last Monday night her
browning triumph was achieved there.
1t doesn't matter that the play was ar
tistically dead failure, or that the
newspaper critics damned it with faint
praise next day, and pointed out its en-
tire unoriginalily. The evening was
glorious one for Mrs. Burton Harrison.
Her name, as the authorizes, was printed
in zig letters on the gOrgeOusly litho-
graphed programme cards. She sat in
a proscenium-hOX, to which judges,
journalists, millionaire>, dudes, and a
minister or two, went between acts to
pay her compliments.