The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1892-01-15
SMELLS AT NEWPORT.
Tho LILO I'm Some Respects Resembles n
Wonderland.

/
Wonderland.
To one who comes to Newport at in
tcrvals and examines it good naturally
it always appears like place designed
by the aut::3T of "Alice in Wonder
land" Everything is according to the
rule of contrary, and the people go
gravely OH their way without noticing
the vast and laughable incongruities
that arc enough to make q craven image
smile. First, it is Il society founded es-
scntially on trade. Bellevue avenue,
with its palaces and swell turnouts, has
Il rock bottom foundation of leather.
hides, sugar, tobacco and such. But
never was trade SO hated and loathed
anywhere as at Newport. There So
cicty has chosen to model itself after
that of Il great landed aristocracv,
when the only thing that the society
people here have not is land! Isn't it
too funny for anything?
Then they built great houses,
modelled after the manor houses of En-
gland and the chateauX of France, which
are expressly designated for the enter
tainment of great numbers of guests.
But such a thing as house party is
Il.
Imagine the Astors or the Vandcrbilts
entertaining an average party of twenty
persons all through the season. But
no-thc mind can not grasp the idea.
Yet they 90 on building enormous
houses and living in one wing of them
Guests at Newport, beyond two or
three desirable men and n fashionable
girl or swell couple, would he utterly
disiointing and impossible. One
couldn't take ten persons to n dinner
or small dance, and so guests are
fewer here than anywhere else on the
civilized globe. 1t is true that
one may utilize ones acquaintance as
guests, by way of getting footing in
society, and it is done very often; but
the fact remains that after all the en-
tertnining done here there is but little
hospitality Life, indeed, is n great
spectacular junction at Newport:
everything is keyed up to the note of
beauty, and it would be vain and fool
ish to expect anything else. And, alas,
Newport society, the best of it, is dead
ly dull.
The result of this luxurious, material
lie is, hrst, to prevent people from be-
ginning W tIlilN, auu second, to pre-
vent them from thinking if once they
begin. Stray foreigners who come to
the United States with great anticipa-
tons of American esprit among women
and American humor among men would
never find any of it here. The young
men and maidcns are sham English.
They are not in touch with American
life-nor with English life either, for
that matter. They are immediately
we'll dressed and perfectly we'll man
nercd. The men have, under all their
vcnccring, certain manlncss and
courage such as the duke of Wellington
said that puppies usually have. The
women are at heart womanly but they
are the dullest Americans that can be
found. a Newport dinner is one of the
most splendid and stupid functions in
the world. 1t is exactly like dinners
given by the great moncyed class, as
represented by the rich English mcr-
chants-grand, solemn, conscious, each
one anxious to impress his neighbor
with his social consequence. There is
no especial depravity in this-it is
merely the way that society founded
on money must organize itself. -Boston
Transcript.