The Sunday herald and weekly national intelligencer., 1890-06-08
A DELIGHTFUL DEAD.BEAT.
How Mrs. Smith, of New York, Has a Good
Time at other Peoples Expense.
Won in bp A ant

Let us call her Mrs. Smith. Her right name
is much more impressive and has a charming
prefix, for ladies of her kind have everything
charming about them, from their small slippers
to the ieweled pin in the top of their heads.
Any one who goes frequently to Del's, to the
matinee, to Fifth avenue between and
G, to the opening days of fashionable milli-
ners, to the spring exhibitions of paintings to
any place where the gay world congregates-
without invitation-may see her and form his
or her own estimate of what kind of person
she is.
In appearance she is pretty and rather quiet;
in age, little over thirty. She never has any
money at all; in fact, she will tell you quite
seriously that they are going to be turned out
for rent, and that the children are going bare
footed-yet she has everything of the very latest
and most expensive. When violets are twenty
five cents apiece Mrs. Smith always wears
bunch in her coat; when boas of feathers first
came over from Paris Mrs. Smith had the pret-
test to be bought in town; when marquise rings
adorned the fingers of the only -Four Hundred
Mrs Smith had a beauty nearly an inch long;
when rich young ladies wear silk stockings
only when arrayed in their war paint Mrs.
Smith never wears any other kind. And all this
when it is known abroad that the butcher talks
fercely of suing the Smiths for his bill.
Mrs. Smith is always extensively dressed, with
an odd, original touch about everything she
wears. first saw her at a sort of lawn fete in
summer time, where ladies are supposed to
dress gayly and in light colors Mrs. Smith
wore palegreen crepe skirts, a green velvet
bodice cut out in the neck, huge straw hat
with wreath Of green flowers round 1t and q
pointed crown fully eight inches high, i'm
mensely yellow gloves and yards of gauze
yelling twisted around her neck. She looked
as if she had come out of La Vie Pdrisienae, or
q water-color sketch by Leon Moran. The mind
of man cannot picture anything more piquant,
striking, almost grotesque, than the figure of
Mrs. Smith in this costume. There were a
young girl and man with her, and they walked
about looking at the people, and the people
looking at them as if they were escaped luna
| tics.
After that l saw her often. She constantly
lunched and dined at Delmonico's. She drove
out on a coach to Pelham; she went to every
thing in the way of theatres worth seeing; she
was always on hand at reception days of clubs
and charity balls. The peculiar thing about
her was that she was never without the young
girl and the man. 1t was not always the same
young girl and the same man; but in style they
were all so similar that they might just as well
pSSh
very pretty, young, and fresh-ooking. The
man-no longer in his first youth-gentemanly
reserved, and well dressed. When they sat to-
gether over their meal or the play the girl was
always lively, full of a sort of gracious vvacity
laughing and sparkling, and making little
funny sallies which caused the gentleman to
laugh. She always seemed q charming girl
with her fresh cheeks and attractive smiles
Mrs. Smith herself was not particularly talka-
tive, but she took in everything. She knew
just who was about her, and she saw every
detail of every costume within sight of her keel
black eyes. She ate her dinner with the relisi
of a gOurmdnde, lettering over choice dishes
moving her fork slowly in a small hand blazing
with rings slipping her wine with knowing
air, and between the courses leaning back in
her chair and surveying the people from the
shade of her large curly-brmmed hat.
Many people who saw Mrs. Smith had misgiy
ings regarding her, They did not know any
thing about her and they thought that after al
that was not to beregretted. Ignorance, in th
case, though not precisely bliss, was thing tC
be cultivated Mrs. Smith did not seem to car,
in the least. When she had her pinl-cheeket et
maiden and her middle-aged admirer with he
she seemed to be perfectly content There wa
a Mr.. Smith, everybody knew, who kept in tn
background, and there were little Smiths, whC
wanted. Mrs. Smith, in her prodigious hats
her violets, and her marquise rings, did no
seem to think about these membranes, bu
with her faithful two had good time.
One morning at Del's, a short while ago,
lifting of heads and sudden concentration o
gances toward the entrance, a trOu.frOu of sill
skirts and delicate perfume Of violet extrac
proclaimed the advent of something charming
1t was Mrs. Smith, fresh as the spring, with
huge bunch of violets in three shades in he
Jacket and two Parma violet pins in ename
contlning her collar at the neck. There was tn
usual small-waisted damsel with her and a bald
headed man with stiff joints and pointed beard
They sat down by the window, and while Mrs
Smith studied the carte, the younger lad
talked in sprightly fashion and the man liz
tened, smiling condescendinglY
1t so happened that the ever-present B
was there-B-, who knows everything an
every one in New York There were bow
between him and Mrs. Smith, and then he let
his seat and crossed over to speak to her. Fo
some moments he stood beside her talking. Sh
was very lively and pretty and gracious intro
duced him to the young lady but not to tn
man, and the three had few minutes talk
which seemed very jolly and bright. Whe
B left them his face was decorated with
pleased smile. 1t was the most natural thin
, in life to hurry out after him and request hir
to unravel the mystery of Mrs Smith
''Oh, Mrs. Smith, ;" lie said, laughing, "she'
all right. She has her little dosyncrasies, that
all. She likes good time, that's all that's th
matter with Mrs. Smith. Old Smith gives he
lot of reiu, but the minute she is too livel
, he'll draw it tight again..
''And what will happen to the good timer"
''She'll take care of that. Smithy, as l sale
! has her idiosyncrasies Her good time is nc
every ones good time She loves gayety like
: debutante. She's perfectly happy if she ca
! eat good dinner, or see play, or go any wa
: where there's swell within eyeshot. Sh
|, doesn't care for any man living. She hasn
got the first instincts of firt or a coauett
,a1c h,1t ,sI,o1