Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1884-01-05
MRS. WIENER.


l first saw Mrs. Wiener at the table
'hote at the Hotel DIES lies Britanniques,
at Cannes. Mrs. Wiener, though the name
is now so familiar to me, still sounds queer.
Wiener, being foreign appellation, seems
to my uu German ears to 90 more COM
fortably with Madame. Madame Wiener
runs so much easily. But she never would
allow that-if -" Frau was withheld by
her English friends, &" then please call me
like one of yourselves, SIZE would say,
and not as If were Frenchwoman.
We were about sixty at dinner that
evening Just the mixed company that one
sees at those Cannes hotels-s few nice
people and a great many nasty ones-a
sprinkling of many nationalities, but the
English heavily preponderating. Mrs.
Wiener sat next TO me, and or her other
side was her husband. Greasy soup and
that disgrace to the tinny tribe, loup de
mer, had not taken the edge off my appe-
tite, and I was looking forward with in.
terest to the eLtcee, which, under the pro-
missing title OF pate de pigeons" bade
fair to be an Improvement on the previous
dishes. / was, however, the last to be
served, and presently glancing past Mrs.
AFiner l discovered That my chance of OBJ
tanning any of the dehcacy had vanished.
Is dimensions, rapidly decreasing, had
reached Mr.. Wiener, and he calmly put
upon his plate all that remained-just
enough for three people, as our host had
apparently calculated. His wife seemed
to consider this most proper and natural
proceedings but catching a disguised
glance from me, "Ach," she said "you
must excuse that Dummie takes all the
pigeon pie; it is so good for him - So it
might have been but | thought that lit.
tie Of it would have been good for me too,
after my long Journey. | was speedily
consoled, however; low roar OF disap-
pointment from Dummie fixed all eyes
upon him, Needless Of the public atten-
ton, he engaged in a loud alteration with
the German head waiter; one long, thin
hand held a fork aloft in the air, upon
which was poised, not a limb Of ssvory
pigeon, but thick slice OF cold mutton,
aud the other hand pointed to his plate,
upon which companion slices reposed. l
did not understand the idiomatic German
which ensued, but what had happened was
only too plain. The pigeon had fallen
short, and cold mutton had been hastily
substituted to exc it out.
In few weeks the mixed society IN the
hotel had broken itself up into little
cliques. We, 1.-THE nice people, as we
fondly and exclusively called ourselves,
had made the nasty people understand
that we did not want to have anything to
do with them that we did not desire con.
yersstion with them in the garden, where,
for the sake Of the air and the glorious
sunshine. we often established ourselves
with our work and books that We did not
care to drive with the weal5hIer of them in
me smart carriages, OF winch, with Dslpi.
amos permission, they were the possessors
for the season IN fact, that even saiuta.
ton on the staircase was not agreeable
60 us.
But Mrs Wiener set these unspOken
rules at defiance. We all adored her, and,
making much of her, would have kept her
to ourselves, " But | am not Sevres porce-
lain like you are, she said to me one day
q" am only a homely little bit Of delft.
We used TO have little tea. parties in
one another's salons In those days. | am
told that Cannes has now greatly altered,
and the society having become like that OF
a large city, has affected even the hotels /;
but in the time of which | was speaking
it was a sociable, countrded sort OF place,
and a little scandal at afternoon tea, or al
a quiet luncheon panty, was our principal
excitement
One afternoon few friends were slipping
my orange pekoe, Dummie and Mrs.
Wiener among the number By the way,
have never To tes day discovered why
she called hlm Dumuio; Wilhelm was his
name lie was a tsJl, slight dark man,
very delicate. rather 105d looking, and en-
tirely absorbed 40 taking care OF himself.
Miss Eeynolls-a stout, solemn Trl OF
J 5. who seemed TO Look upon life as made
5or practiciug, and who for eight hours
day steadily plodded through rizht-hsud
scales lett-haud scales, scales with both
hands together, tyt-dnger exercises and
shskes Co the torture and despair Of her
ueighbors had just risen from the piano,
where she had accompanied our converse
tion Ter the last qua & IT of an hour with
6reary sonata. There was pause for
momeut-One's little remarks always flow
so much more comfortably under the shell.
ter OF music when Dummie turned TO me
and said
" NoI should ask my wife TO sing"
" shall be delighted, / cried " and
would have asked her long ago, but I had
40 idea that Mrs Wiener sang"
''Oa, yes, she ausW cred, 90 sing very
well indeed but not much now, for Dam.
ME does not always like it. ! viii fetch
my music" And Of she ran, returning IN
q few moments with an armiul 81 will
sing You a Swedish love song, she said
The other day / saw that Madame lis
son was To sing that same song at s.
James, Hall; and for the sake Of old
recollectious ! went to hear it The great
prima donna held her audience enthrallyd,
and was compelled by unanimous encore
to repeat IT, But 1 DO not think she sang
that song more artistically than when /
drst heard It in my tiny, bright, amber
satin salon at the Hotel des lies Britain.
niaues and the lovely voice, though per.
haps more powerful, was not sWeeter OF
more perfect in It's timbre than my dear
Mrs Wieners. l can see her now as she
rose from the piano and stood smiling al
our astonishment.
She wss a little above the middle height
with fairly good figure, and face, which,
insignificant at the first glance, grew upoT
one in the most wonderful manner. The
Jaws and chin were square, the mouth
arge, the nose straight, but too short, the
intelligent blue eyes spoiled by light
almost white, eyelashes, the fair han
plentiful and growing we'll upon her fore