Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-10-26
NOTED WOMEN.
The Coming Social Season and How Our
Ladies Are Preparing for 1t.
The Changes in the White House - Gossip
About Mrs Plaine-Hansion of the Vice
President-Cabinet Ladies'
Special correspondence of the Gazette.

| WASHINGTON, Oct. A.-The social season o
the coming winter promises to be tine livelies
that Washington has ever known. THOUSANDS
of dollars are now being spent in renovating tint
houses of our sta tesmen, and a vast amount o!
new furniture and dresses has been brought oye
from Europe. Mrs. President Harrison is super
intending number of changes in the interior O.
the White House Under her directions th'
south portico has been repaved. The old tile:
have been taken up and some beautiful patriotic
designs in mosaic have taken their places. Mrs.
Harrison's due artistic taste suggested these
designs, and the whole il very highly compli-
mented. Leading out from the blue parlor there
is a huge shield in our national colors. contain.
ing the motto, z Pluribus Unum, y surrounded
by deep blue circle studded with thirteen stars
represen ing the original states of the union.
The ground work of the portico is OF terra Gotta,
! and the whole is very beautiful.
dropped into the White House yes terday and
found the furniture OF the east blue and red
| rooms wrapped up in their linen summer
clothes. Some changes have been made in the
blue room, and Mrs. arrison is giving 8 gen
eral supervision of the refurnshing of the man
sion. She is thorough houseSeeper and over
sees all such matters more than the average lady
| changes made at her suggestion is the trans
forming of the presidents private Office adioin-
| ing the cabinet chamber on the second floor and
| facing south into family sitting room. This
| room is the library Of the White House. II was
| never intended for Office and is one Ct the
| most beautiful rooms in the building. President
Harrison will take possession of Private Secre-
| tary Halford's room, which is much larger and
better fitted for his duties and needs. Hereto
fore the sitting room of the White House has
| been of the halls. 1t was by no means a
| desirable arrangement. and the living room,
Mnicn snoI it De 'ne nest room IN me nous.
| verv fond of her own home and OF her family,
and both she and the president will greatly
| relish the change. AS the presidents wife sine
is courteous to all, and no one is ever refused
admissi to her presence when it is possible for
| her to see them. She feels, however, that she
olNnttl Hpyra al
| get away from the crowd, and she believes in
makinE her second floor home pleasant as
| possible.
| 1 asked MS. Harrison yesterday something
| about her winter toilets in which she wi ap-
| pear at the White House receptions and state
| dinners. She has a number of new ones but
| she objected to saving very much about them on
account of the recent sad deaths of Justice Miller
and General Belknsp. They are being made at
| Baltimore and Mrs. Harrison does much of her
| shopping in that city. She is so well known in
| Washington that she finds it more convenient to
! shop where she is a stranger, and she can go
| over to Baltimore in en- hour. Mrs. Dimmick
| and Mrs. Mckee usually accompany her on
| these trips, and she has made number of them
| since she returned from Cressou.
1t is question whether there will be much
entertaining this winter at the home OF the Sec
| rotary of state. There has been so much trou-
| tertaining, buc am told that all obligatory en-
| tertainments of an official nature will be car
| ried out: Mrs. Blaine will probably give her
regular Wednesday receptions. and her house
| will be open on New Years. Mrs. Blaine said
last winter at of her informal SATURDAY.
afternoons at home during the trying period OF
smother all selfish feelings in the effort to rouse
her husband from the dangerous apathy and
morbid grief which so completely untitled him
| FOR his public duties. 1t was for this reason
that she kept up her social connec.
tons, when in reality she would
have far preferred to have been alone.
Mrs. Blaine IS a very good woman at heart. she
lacks, however the personal magnetism which
her husband has in such striking degree. and
callers always feel at home. Her stiff bearing,
which she has at times. comes largely from
difhdence and from the unfavoraole criticisms
which she has received. She is a woman of
strong domestic tastes, and she has a wonderful
talent for making ''the home beautiful. - She
does all kinds of beautiful fancy work. She is
fine seamstress, and in times past she has saved
her husband many dollars by her knowledge OF
dressmaking. IN to the period of Miss Hattie
years ofage, every dress she wore was made by
her mothers hands. The lace which ornamented
these dresses and the undertaking of the fam
lily was knitted by ladies OF Augusta who were
in reduced circumstances, and who were much
aided by the needlework from Mrs. Blaine.
their home at Rhinecliff on the Hudson until
early in November. The Morton mansion at
Washington is in apple pie order. Il has its
regular corps of servants, who are here whether
the Family are away or or not, and it takes but a
few hours to make the needed preparations for
number of guests. The vice-president usually
comes back seve raj DAYS in advance of his fam
lily. however. He has quite domestic turn AM
he can give directions as to the household as
well as his accom- lished wife.
Mrs. Secretary Window will continue to oc
cupy during the coming season the magnificent
brown stone house which she had last year, and
this is all ready for her soon she returns to
the city. Miss Window is already here, aud
she and her father are keeping house together.
There is no decision as yet as to what enter
tainments the Windows will give. They will
be guided by the ines of the other cabinet
families and will undou btediy give number of
entertainments Mis- Window is the light of
tI,oh nn mil he IS n AMI m NM
affected girl, devoted to her music and univers-
ally admired in society.
Secretary Proctor and his family still in
Rutledge, VT, and they will not be here before
November. am told that Mrs Proctor will
preside at her own receptions this winter and
that she will take her proper place upon all state
occasions. Her boy was i'll all last season and it
took the whole OF her time to take care of him.
He is now well and though Mrs. Proctor is by
no means strong, she feels that she will be able
to take upon her the social obligations copsis-
tent with her husbands position. Her niece
Mrs Caney, who in connection with Miss Proc
tor did the honors of the household last season.
will not be here but portion Of the winter.
Speaking OF Mrs. Proctor, Mrs. Attorney
General Miller has been spending month at
Secretary Proctor's home in the Green noun
tains. She is enthusiastic to the beauties of
the place and she says that Secretary Proctor
has near him some of the most valuable marb
quarries in the country. He is still largely in
terested in these works and he was formerly
president of them. One of his sons is now the |
manager. There are 15,u0O names on the pay
roll of Secretary Proctor's marble company and
the village of Proctor is m ,de up almost en- |
tirely of the employees of his works. he owns |
500 houses in this town and he rents these to his
workmen at seven dollars per month apiece. |
These houses are beautiful little two-story cot |
tages and the secretary see. that they are kept |
in good condition, and he gives hiz men more |
comfort than they could get elsewhere at such |
prices.
Mrs Miller tells me that she has made no |
plans for the winter yet. Said she: 81 let |
things take their course, and never act til 1 |
have to- Nevertheless the Miller household |
is very well arranged and she keeps everything |
in marching order. Mrs. Secretary Rusk and |
her daughter are settled in their home |
Massachusetts avenue, and MRS. Rusk tells Inc
that she will be gu ided entirely by the other
members of the cabinet as to her social plans.
Mrs. Secretary Noble was here few days ago
but she has again goErs IS Vermont. She haG |
great many visitors last season and will have
some his. She is good housekeeper and is
noted for her beautiful things She has many
fine pieces OF antique furniture, old china and
other articles OF virtu. She is good dresser
and shows considerable originality in her
toilets. She has rather piercing glance
through her glasses, but she is a very kind
hearted woman and popular.
Postmaster General Wanan,aker has supe-in-
tended the arrangement Of mis- home for the win |
ter. Mrs. Wanamaker is not expected h-re before
the middle of November, but understand that |
she will give many If not more entertain |
ments than she did last winter, and though the |
himself says he knows moth
ing about her plans there is doubt that the
Frelinghuisen mansion will keep up its reputa-
ton for being the gavest house at the capital. |
Secret cry Tracy is living in his newly leased
mansion on street. and he xpects his daugh-