Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-08-03
Carmen Sylvia" is content with gold
cigarette case suspended to her chatelaine.
NEARLY ALL SMOKE.


cigarette case suspended to her chatelaine.
| NEARLY ALL SMOKE.
The Comtesse de Paris, the Queen de iure
| OF France, is addicted to mild Havanas of
delicious flavor, and her daughter, Queen
Amelia of Portugal, is source OF consider
able fortune to the manufacturers OF Rus
sian cigarettes at Dresden. All the Russian
| grand duchesses and most OF the imperial
arch duchesses OF Austria, including Marie
Iherese. Elizabeth and Clothilde smoke to
tnelr hearts content and in the most public
manner, and their example is followed by
nearly all of the royalty. Neither of the
Empresses of Germany nor the Qneen of
Saxony nor yet the Grand Duchess of Baden
are known to use tobacco in any form, and
II either Queen Emma Of Holland or the
queen of Sweden indulge in an occasional
cigarette for the purpose of soothing their
sorely-tried nerves they do so in private.
Queen Victoria has an intense horror of
smoking, and it is strictly prohibited at
windsor Castle, at Balmoral and at Os-
borne. This is, indeed, one of the main
reasons why the visits of the Prince OF
Wales to his august mother are so brief, and
so few and far between. For the heir ap-
parent to the English throne is so little &C
customed to selfdenial, and so fond OF
smoking, that he Is scarcely ever to be seen
cigarette between his lips, and cannot bear
to 20 tor any length of time without it. OF
his sisters only the Princess Louise,
Marchioness of Lorne, smokes, but both his
wife and his daughters, especially Princess
Maud, are accustomed to indulge in cigar
ette when in their morning room at San
dringham or Marlborough House, with Miss
Bessie Knellys.
ORIENTAL sPLENDoR.
1t is in the Orient, however, that smoking
has been developed into fine art. De-
barred from all the social pleasures and
active mode OF life of their European sisters,
the ladies of the Zenana are restricted to
gossip, coffee and tobacco. Nowhere else in
the world are these three things brought to
such standard of perfection. A fair idea
OF the Importance attached thereto by Turk
ish women of high rank may be obtained by
q visit to tine harem of the Khediye of
Egypt at the Ismailia Palace on the banks
o. the Nile. The audience chamber of His
Highness' only wife is a casket fit for
jewel. The furniture is of ivory and mother
Of pearl, and the hangings of silvery satins,
embroidered with pale roses and violets in
silk and silver thread. The ceiling and
woodwork are painted with groups of
flowers, and the glass in the windows is
milk-white. while the floor is covered with
thick white Aubusson rugs, strewn with
design of rose leaves and buds.
Here lying back on a low velvet divan
is the Vice Queen, smiling her welcome to
the approaching visitor. She is still ex-
tremely beautiful, although little too
short. Her face is brilliant and lovely like
Titan or Rubens, her eyes are very
berous fires o.; the Orient, her scarlet lips
are like double camellia petal and her
skin of the warm, creamy whiteness of a tea
rose. She is generally clothed in white
silken tissues cut a. PEuropeene with a
great profusion of marvellous lace and per-
feet shower of pearls and diamonds glitter
ing on her hair, on her white bosom, en-
circling her wrists and covering her small,
plump hands.
DIAMONDS AND DIAMONDS.
Diamonds sparkle everywhere, the to-
bacco box which lies on low inlaid table
near the Vice Queen, is studded with them.
The inkstand and penholder which adorn
her vernis-mart writing desk and all ablaZe
with splendid gems, Her Highness' slippers
are thickly sewn with brilliants. and more
jewels form monograms ON all the dainty
knicknacks which surround her, from her
gold footstool to her powder box and tortoise
shell hand-glass. On her left heart the Vice
Queen wears miniature of her husband,
framed with huge diamonds and rubies, and
around her waist is a broad bard Of the
same stones to which is suspended fan of
snowy ostrich feathers, its handle encrusted
with pearls, emeralds and sapphires.
In spite of all this profusiou of jewelry,
there is nothing dtscordant or loud in the
Sovereign's appearance. The Oriental
nature of the luxury, is in perfect keeping
with her Oriental style of beauty, and the
setting is in absolute harmony with the
great brilliancy of the picture she presents
She always rises most graciously from her
couch and extends her hand to the visitor
for the "baise-main reglementaire, and
during the course of the audience she talks
both pleasantly and cleverly about the
topics of the day, with which she is thor
oughly cognizant. Soft-footed slaves hand
round tiny jeweled cups filled with ira
grant beverage which in no way resembles
the brown mixture that we in our ignorance
are pleased to call coffee. and the Vice
Queen herself offers her guests some rose
scented cigarettes.
The Vice Queen herself frequently smokes
naughile (water pipe). This suits her
style OF beauty even better than the more
prosaical cigarette. The Khedive presented
his wife with naughile of great mag
nifcence. The bowl is of engraved rock,
crystal mounted in chased gold, fashioned
in the form of lotus flower. The tube is
concealed bv deftly-wrought network of
pink silk and gold thread, while the amber
mouth piece and gold plateau are one mass
of sparkling jewels.
MARQUIsE DE KERGoET,
Formerly lady in waiting to the Empress
of Austria.
Copyright by Henry B. Mcdowell.