Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1889-01-30
THE RICHEST WOMAN.
Daily Life Of the Widow Of Win.
lam n. Vanderbilt.
She Doesn't Go Into Society, But Makes
. Grandly Ceremonious Event of DIM
ner-Soms of the Gorgeous Apart
ments OF Her Mansion.

Undoubtedly Mrs. Vanderbilt, widow Of
the late William II. Vanderbilt, is the rich
est woman in American, writes q New
York correspondent to the Chicago Nail
Perhaps next to Queen Victoria she is the
richest woman il the world. She lives al
most alone, save for the large staff Of
servants, who, with Mrs. Vanderbilt and
her son George, the only unmarried child,
occupy the huge brown-stone palace corner
of Fifth avenue and Fifty-first street.
In many respects Mrs. Vanderbilt leads
very SIMPLE life, exactly as hundreds of
other women who have not a hundredth
part of her money. She breakfasts be-
tween eight and nine o'clock-the meal
consisting of fruit, porridge, steak, chops,
or brolled chicken, warm rolls, tea and
coffee. George Vanderbilt breakfasts with
his mother so that she shall not be alone.
Her luncheon is also comparatively simple
meal, but at dinner there is much
ceremony. There are usually guests. The
dining-room is situated on the first floor,
with windows looking out on Fifty-first
street. There is an immense fireplace with
carved oaken designs in bas-relief at one
end Of the room, opposite the door leading
from the Japanese room, which, by the
way, has recently had billiard table placed
with old oRken furniture. A buffet fills one
entire side Of the room, and on the other be-
tween the windows are large glass cabinets
inwhich is the finest collection of old Sevres
and ether rare poreslAins. When lunched
with her the other day the table was set
for eight people, and the service was of
Dresden china. On each plate was large
white linen napkin, so folded as to show an
embroidered monogram, about an inch and
half square, of the letters w. II. V. At
the four corners of the table were tall sin
gle silver candlesticks, with pink candles
and pink silk shades, and in front of these
small silver dishes for bonbons, salted
almonds, olives, etc. The glassware was
finely cut and sparkled like diamonds, and
on the buffet stood other specimens of cut
glass ready for use 1t all shone like col
lection of huge gems. In the center of the
table stood large cut-glass bowl of rare
workmanship filed with chrysanthemums
from Mrs. Vanderbilt's own conservatory,
which just now contains an immensely
beautiful display of the autumnal flowers.
just outside the dining-room is a store-room
with safes built into the wall. 1t also con-
tains the buffers pantry. There is balcony
with wrought-iron railing which extends
around the room, five feet from the top.
The safes on the lower range are lined with
purple velvet and contain large pieces of
silver. There are silver punch-bowls, tank
ards, candlesticks, tureens, all exquisitely
engraved and of immense size. One safe
contains only immense silver trays, and
one tray especially large has tiny railing
an inch high surrounding it, and large,
snowy handles. 1t IS said to be the largest
and finest engraved piece of silver plate in
the country. Another safe contains a solid
gold dinner service and tall gold candle
sticks. There are few people of royal blood
who can excel in their table appointments
this New York widow. In the balcony row
of safes the smaller pieces of silver are
kept-spoDns of every kind and variety,
ladies, knives, forks and small dishes.
They are in gold, silver and platinum.
The other apartments on this floor are
three drawing-rooms leading into each other
on the Fifth avenue side of the house. The
first apartment on the left of the main en-
trance is finished in green, and is called the
library. 1t has large, open fireplace, and
is in appearance cheerful, luxurious room,
yet it is seldom used by the family. 1t is a
gloomy place for the widow, as her husband
was stricken with death in this room dur
ing the memorable conference with Mr.
Robert Garrett, who is himself worse than
dead, being confined in the barred rooms at
his place at Ringwood, N j. 1t is said that
Mr.. Garrett's insanity dates from the shock
he received when his friend, William II.
Vanderbilt, apparently in full possession of
health and strength, dropped dead before
him.
The next apartment Is the principal draw
ing-room, and of course contains every
thing in the way of costly bric-a-brac of
which it is possible to conceive. The walls
are covered with crushed strawberry vel
vat h1-1 rrI,
dallions cut to look like huge rubles, emer-
aids and opals. The main hall is very large,
containing an immense place, and with
its heavy carving and winding staircase
leading to the floor above looks like a part
Of some medieval castle. An objective
point in this hall is q life size portrait of
Mrs. Vanderbilt by Sargent.
Ali the sleeping apartments are on the
upper floor, as is also a sunny sitting-room
where Mrs. Vanderbilt passes her fore
Moons She gives large sums to charities,
through other hands for the most part, as
she is not very strong of late years. She
goes into no society. except to make formal
calls on old and intimate friends, and TO
visit at the houses of her children, all of
whom live within stones throw. This is
the daily life of the richest American wild
ow 1t is generally supposed that at her
death the great Vanderbilt collection of
paintings will be given to the Metropolitan
Museum of Art, and that a wing of the
building will be built tc receive them in or
der to keep the collection intact, the same as
was done in the case of the Catherine Wolfe
collection. 1t is rather singular thing, but
the Vanderbilt collection does not contain
one canvas by the old masters Mr.. Van
derbilt did not believe in them, possibly did
not appreciate them, but he took great
pleasure in the works of modern artists,
and before his death became quite con-
noisseur. His collection of modern paint
ings is one of the finest in the world.
WITHOUT CHURNinG.