St. Paul daily globe., 1889-01-13


in the same boat with President Cleve-
land sailing down to posterity as the
husband of your wife, while we are
ruled by Mrs. Gov. Merriam"
LII is not the first time since the deci-
sion of election that graceful compii
ments to her beauty and gracious man
ner have associated Mrs. Merriam with
Mrs. Cleveland. But as she stood in a
blaze of light Wednesday evening greet
ing the thousands of men and women
from all parts of the state who had come
to do her honor. the tableau vivante
she presented was so original i'll its char
acter that one resented The most t1atter7
ing comparison. Her glimmering white.
satin gown, veiled with web-like lace, a
dash of green and gold showing in the
moss and velvet ribbons that caught
the drapery and adorned the corsage,
would have become the identity of many
another woman, but was only fitting
covering of her tall. shapely form. The
sparkling Jewels at her throat and in.
her hair did not dim her ''wOman'S'
glory" the soft mass of golden hair
that crowned her head, nor the brill.
fancy of the violet eyes that empha-
sized every kindly word she spoke. The
tribi teS to her beauty that one heard
Oh all sides during the evening did not
so much indicate the secret OF Mrs.
Merriam's popularity as did the boasts
of her cordial welcome each OF her
guests made. 1t was not little
amusing, circulating among the
crowd, to hear this one telling that one
how Mrs. Merriam said she was pleased
to meet him. She gave every one to
feel that, out of the 5000 persons pres
Ia hn ma r.
ticularly desired to know, and that had
he remained away
THE INAUGURAL BALL
would have been a failure. Early in
the evening clever young man, who
is rather the bitterer for continued
hard luck, was surprised in the corridor
struggling against the spell an intro
ductiOn to Gov. and Mrs. Merriam had
put upon him. Hang it ALL" he finally
exclaimed. I'D rather see them sue
cessful than myself. If had all their
wealth and their Office 1 couldn't do as
much in lifetime to make fellow
comfortable as they can with one hand,
clasp and single greeting
The wife of no other governor has as
sumed the social obligations of their
office" as has Mrs. Merriam. The in
augural ball was an innovation. and no
less so is the weekly reception she will
hold Fridays at her own home. There
is about this home something suggestive
of the enduring serenity that envelopS
the ancestral halls of aristocracy Set
high above and well back from the
street on University hill, it looks out
over its broad, terraced lawn and over
the length and breath of the city. The
smoke of the ambitious mart may in
time spoil its view of the town, but the
mansion can still lift its face in calm
superiority to the pleasing picture of
the river and bluffs beyond. 1t has the
appearance of having naturally gray
itated to the place it occupies, and the
antiquity of the hill which it crowns
precIudes the possibility of limiting, as
may be done of many another proud
mansion in st. Paul, that its loftineSS
has been occasioned by sudden rise of
real estate.
The interior of the house develops the
fact that the elegant and the useful are
one thing and the same in the Merriam
home. Every room is fitted for daily
enjoyment. The furniShed-by -an-up-
holsterer- and-state-funer-
ais air that frequently pervadeS hand
some homes is conspicuously absent.
The main entrance admits one to
grand hall that is keynote of the en-
tire house. With the first glimpse
comes an indistinct impsession OF warm
colors and luxurious ease. A Persian
rug in the center of the floor gives to
the room tone of the Orient that is re-
produced in the odd brass altar lamp
that swings from the ceiling in one
corner and in the velvet cushions of an
inviting chair that stands beside an his
toric center table. The table is of tor
toise shell inlaid with gold, the frame
and legs being beaten gold, and was at
one time the property of the Empress
Eugene. To the left of the main en-
trance rises tall brass candelabrum and
to the right, beautiful Satsumasiar in
which palm tree is growing. OppoS-
ite the entrrnce is the fireplace, where a
huge log crackles and burns brightly.
casting a shifting light on the head of
Winter and the figures of dancing girls
painted in oil on the tiles about it,. A
palm tree and a century plant in Jap
anese jars flourish before the fire,
whispering.ofte to each other, no doubt,
when not S0uliSnear, congratulations
on the comfortable quarters their trop-
ical blood has found. The woodwork
in the hall is natural oak, and the walls
and ceiling are
FINISHED IN ROUGH GOLD
studded with shells. The portieres are
tapestry in which the favorite colors
and designs of Eastern art are wrought.
Lettering in the hall, one catches
glimpse of the drawing room to the left
and the reception room to the right, and
straight ahead of the dining room.
Pushing on to the last, the eye is greet
ed with an exquisite picture in which
walls hung with GObelin blue embossed
felt furnish an effective background for
the dazzling array of cut glass and rare
china the room contains. A quaint tea