Passaic City record., 1891-01-15

and under the eyes with black, and
fastened tiny bit of court plaster at the
corner of the eye, to throw out its lustre.
She sponged the face, neck and hands
with vaseline, and then wiped it off with
chamois. She covered the same surface
with white powder SO fine that it barely
left snowy shadow on the skin; then
she painted the cheeks, the forehead, the
inside of the eyes and ears, and tipped
the chin with rose to initiate dimple.
The widow sat at q large mirror, and
held one in each hand so that she could
see herself from every point of view dur
ing the operations. She gave her opinion
of effects here and there as the maid pro-
ceeded, and, when the task was COM
pleted, looked like dazzling beauty of
twenty-five. The maid then threw a
large rose brocaded satin spread over a
Turkish lounge and placed the widow on
it. She sprayed her from head to foot
with cologne, and subdued the light to
a tint.
Some difficulty arose over the position
the widow was to assume, and the daugh-
ter and her friend were called in consul
tation. The maid wanted half-slum-
tering attitude, as if the widow were
taking nap, but the lady thought that
was not poetic enough, and wanted some
thing like goddess reposing on a shell
in the twilight, or Undine rising from
the sea. The disposition of the arms,
too, caused some trouble, aud it was a
long time before the ladies could
decide on anything quite up to the
widows notion. The French maid
was shrewd enough to know
that her mistress would not be
satisfied until she had her own way, and
waited to hear all she had to say on the
subject before speaking conclusively.
The lady finally remembered that she
had seen picture, in an art gallery on
Fifth avenue, of, she thought, Cleo
patra, and that one hand was bent and
resting beside the head, the other cast
across the form and holding fan made
of the feathers of rare birds. The widow
desired the hand up by the head, as she
had really exquisite arms, and the sleeve
of the lace dress was flowing. With
one arm like that, and the brilliant
whiteness of the other peeping through
the meshes of the lace, there was hardly
man in existence who would not risk
limb to have both around his neck.
The widow was at length set out in
that matter, with the head gently lean
ing back on gold and crimson pillow,
the chin slightly raised to bring forth the
whole swan-like outline of the throat.
Little white-satin shoes that looked like
toys were placed on her feet, and the
French maid retired several times to adj
mire her work, and fell into ecstacies
over it. The widow was complete at
three o'clock, and the young ladies
took their position in the front
room. The maid went upstairs to recon-
noitre from the front window. and calm
and peace reigned through that anxious
house. The lawyer delayed, and the
widow became uneasy. She called her
daughter and asked if she was sure he
would come. The daughter was quite
sure. The French maid was summoned
and asked her opinion. She was certain
he would not fail. The widow was not
comfortable, and wanted drink. They
gave her lemonade, the maid holding
the glass to her lips with napkin under
it for fear of drop falling somewhere.
She had then to carefully wipe the lips
with the corner of lace handkerchief,
and add little rose salve to keep the
ruby glowing.
All then returned to their posts, and
fifteen minutes elapsed. They seem like
years to the widow. She was not only
in state of high expectation but get
ting hungry. The daughters friend was
noted harpist, and part of the perfor-
nance was that, as soon as the lawyer
was seated in the back room she should
play something soft, suggesting moon
light and fairies. When the lawyer fell
before the shrine she was to change the
music to the old French song, "Comme
jet'aime," so as to give the widow a
chance to say .'That music speaks my
heart" The maid advised that the
daughter sing the song, as she had sweet
voice and could give it feeling, but the
widow said "No," her daughter singing
the song would remind him of the
daughter, and that he was about to be-
come a step-father. It would not do
at ALL
AS the young friends fingers swept
the harp the widow called out to stop,
as the sound vibrated on her nerves and
irritated her. She had fixed upon
smile, ard did not want to lose it. She
needed something to eat, and the maid
placed an olive between her lips and
afterward removed the stone. The
widow was growing tired and beginning
to feel that the whole business would be
a failure, when sharp pull came to the
bell. The ladies rushed to their stations,
and the maid upstairs. The butler
opened the door and called the maid.
He did not know whether the lady was
in or not. The maid came down and did
not know either. She requested him to
go into the back room, as the young
lady had friends in the front, and she
would go and see if her mistress were at