, 1886-02-10
MASQUERADE COSTUMES FOR HIRE.


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An Uncanny Scene In n L~on-Habi,- and
siasks-PeopIe Who Hire Costumes.
1t was a strange sight which the re-
porter encountered the other day in a
large loft, up three flights Of stairs. in
one Of our tall business structures. Boz
fore the eye became accustomed 10 the
semi-darkness which prevailed in the
wide space 1t looked as if hundreds Of
people had committed suicide by hang
ing there. Long racks ran from wall
to the other, and suspended from stout
pegs hung what appeared as limp IN
figures. The windows on both front and
Q OF the loft were open, and, as the
chill air coursed through the large room,
the limp figures swayed to and fro with
n mysterious noise which sounded like
suppressed whispers from another world.
The aged lady who had conducted the
scribe upstairs had left him alone mo-
mentarily to fetch n match for the pur-
pose of lighting the gas, and in the un-
certain light of the room the swaying
shapes looked indeed like dangling
corpses. Occasionally there would be n
faint glitter among the silent crowd ms if
some gold or silver ornament had been
struck by a ray Of light, and then all
would be indistinct again. Or some
CHASTITY face, with large. lifeless eyes
would be turned to the light which came
sparsely through the small openings in
the closed blinds, revealing the most
hideous features imaginable.
The old lady came slowly upstairs,
,-..lt-- aNT..llw~ So 81. ....Alal -
after she had lighted the gas jets the
scene changed as if by magic. Then the
limp figures were seen to be so many
bright costumes of all ages and all i'm
aginable styles. There was the bright
armor of a knight of old hanging peace
fully next to that of a Turk. Scores of
habits of Italians and Spanish capitanos
were mixed with the quaint costumes of
Chinese and Japanese grandees, and in
Vulnerable habiliments of the historic
Pulcinella, -Scaramuccia, Arlechino, Brig
bella, Tartaglia, DIR. Graziano and the
Venetian merchant were seen suspended
from the peg. Below each costume
were the boots, shoes, slippers, sandals or
other -chassure" pertaining to the char
acter, and On top of the peg were the
turbans, felt hats, helmets or other head
gear appropriate to the outfit, while ZACH
costume had attached toit a mask. There
were frightfully distorted features,
bearded masks, idiotic faces, half-masks,
masks of paper, wax tarlatan, silk and
almost any conceivable texture. There
were the costumes of clowns of all sizes
in plain material. and the velvet and
satin costumes of Spanish grandees,
richly ornamented with gold and silver
ACKNOWLEDGMENT there was a collec-
ton of all kinds of arms-the ancient
halberd, the medieval arquebuse and the
elegant rapier of the renaissance.
The great majority forming the middle
and poorer classes makes up the best
paying custom for the costumer. who
has a sliding scale of prices for his
characters" A queen of the night or a
countess Of the middle ages is the
preference of Bridget, of the basement
kitchen. She would not present any
other character at the masquerade ball,
and she willingly pays from 80 to s. for
the use of the costume. Salesladies of n
romantic turn of mind and blameless
anatomy swear by the betwitching cos
tune of the medieval page with a
wonderful wig of impairment" blonde
hair. Shop girls who have spent some
of their few leisure hours in devouring
dime novels affect the gypsy maids and
shepherdesses, which can be had at from
so cents to 81 per night.
The sterner sex manifests the most
paradoxical preferences. One would
think, for instance, that a barber would
delight in representing the lather-pro-
ducing Figaro, as Mozart and Rossini
have so wonderfully depicted, but with
him it must be "A full-hedged knight in
m bright, and the Ingersollian
winged word" at the helmet. Pale
faced clerks, who go home in patches
after dark because they are afraid of
and-baggers, make excellent Italian
banditti, with formidable sugar-loaf hats
and lean calves, and the hard-worked
~journeyman must make n count in silk
attire, at least, should the robes of royalty
in the costumer's stock have given out
Chicago Herald.