New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-02-28
HOME AND SOCIETY.
CHAT OF THE SEASON.
A STRANGE STORY OF NECKLAcE-wOMEN IN
BALLRoOM-wHAT NAY BE
DONE WITH VEAL.

little Miss Il. wore lovely string oil pearls belonging
to her mother which quite came In for their share
Of the general admiration accorded TO the pretty de
butante and her toilette. Yes, they very beau
tful said Mrs b. in reply to the enthusiastic com.
ments OF a friend and they have, moreover. very
interesting history. which as have livet so long In
sccuson abroad, You have probably never heard
"At one time. you know. before my husbands
death went out a great deal In London and. as my
pearls which are really remarkable for their Size and
color are immensely valuable. had a duplicate string
made OF Roman pearl, which wore on all ordinary
occasions. leaving my own precious stones in the
safe at home About that time cousin of mine who
was an extremely pretty girl. but rather badly Off
In the way Of worldly gear came over from America
TO stay with me- and the occasion OF her first dance
I took great pleasure in seeing that her undoubed
beauty was advanced by a becoming toilette. As she
had no jewels clasped the string OF Roman pears
around her neck. saying i will give you these as
they are becoming, and can easily have another
string made If should want them The child was
great success and at the end Of TIVE
ried 10 the Count S., OF the Austrian Legation,
who fell in love with her pretty face and wooed and
welded her despite the want of dover.
Just before the wedding my French maid who had
been with us for years. and in whom had always had
the greatest confidence. disappeared and with her my
pearls. My loss the talk of the town at the time
enormous rewards offered and both English and
French detectives busy over the affair for months
without however. the slightest result The disappear
Of such valuable Jewels puzzled every one, and
tho mystery only explained few years ago.
when my eldest daughter came ont in Paris. Count
s. there with his family. having attained
TO the rank Of first secretary OF the Legation, md on
the night Of my Berha's first bah my cousin Madame
voD s. TO apartment with the fdenti-
cal string OF Roman pearls had given her several
years before. Il have always kept them,' She said.
put away carefully and l want Bertha to1 have
them as they brought me such good luck
"The clasp, however appeared TO be Imperfect. and
Nine. s. offered TO leave II at the Jewellers
on her way home. 1T is the affair of half an tholr.
she said, and they easily be sent back in. time
for the ball. An hour later the card OF a; well
known jeweller brought to me. and wondering
what he wanted gave orders 10 have him admitted
An elderly gentleman presented himself. i have
brought back the pearls myself. madame he, said,
bowling respectfully. on account OF their great value
] preferred to deliver them personally into yo,sr own
hands
Amused TO see of the trade so easily deceived.
answered, And what should you say was their value"
Not less than 1900 pounds at their lowest
valuation he responded promptly. Il have exam
ined then, carefully; they are without flaw, and
remarkably perfect Ny dear, nearly tainted, for
q wild idea suddenly occurred to me: What If these
were the real pearls after all, and my clever maid had
only taken the duplicates 2 Wen. the long and the
short Of it that that was exactly what had hap
pened Bertha wore the bona fde Jewels to the En-
bassy ball, and again they seemed TO bring good
fortune for she is most happily married to Lord "a.
whom she met that evening; and now it is little
Marys turn. have been wondering all the evening
what will be her fate
paragraph in The Tribune on the helplessness
OF women I'm ballroom has elected considerable
comment and in view Of the general discomfort at
tending the present conventional rules. IL may be worth
while TO give few Of the general sentiments fof the
subject some publicity. The writer has therefore
asked young man in society. a fair debutaDte
natron elderly beau for their opinions "on the
subject.
at is really awfully hard don't you know said
the young man. I" 1t makes fellow no end Uncom-
Portable TO see nice girls that he Knows waiting to DO
asked to dance to go down TO supper at one OF tho
big balls. But really afraid TO speak TO any one
it is so hard TO get away without seeming rade. 1t
is Just as hard lines the fellow as for tho girls
but what can we do? II is the women who ought
10 change the present order OF things and they coud
do Il ~ thew liked with little independence ana con-
certed action"
"wfat do think Of the position OF women IN
society ~ said the dcbutane. "Why, u Is JUST per
fectly horrid should love TO co to balls ana dances
II it were not for the dreadful incubus Of finding part
ners for the german or for supper, and for the nser
able fear Of being left OUT As for the men, thsy
need not fatter themselves that being in manner
lords OF the situation adds 10 their attractions IL
makes the girls Just look upon them us 'things 70
for any natural conversation, II simply paialy2es IT,
How quite too ridiculous it is for girls OF our age "
be so abtectly helpless! Why, the other night hdele
l. and / were taken down to supper Mt the fs'1l
archs' and were deposited together at table Ater
our escorts, who both oldsh sort OF men, nan
seen that our plates were filed, disappeared ana
never came back at all, every one left to 60 up
stairs and we were left In the lurch We were
wretohedly uncomfortable, but we actually did not
dare to 20 up the short fight Of steps ana enter ule
ballroom alone. Finally that dear, sweet Miss b
saw our embarrassment and came over TO US with
her partner, and under the aegis OF his masculine
protection we crept rather consciously up stairs"
"Of course this absurd state OF things is all wrong
the maon Observed especially in this country where
the women represent the leisure class, ana therefore
almost invariably outnumber the men In al soc'a'
entertainments. That |, at my age should be oepehu
ent on the offered Of a boy not older than my
own son to enable me TO walk across the room Or
On TO suppec is manfesty ridiculous, ana shOua hoI
in these days of progress and Embarrassment oc
possible" -,
al am sure I wish that some reformation couIo
hs adopteds eroaned the elderly squire Of DANES
any hfe is made burden to me by my being Obliged
10 look out for all the daughters OF my Oh 1rehos
Great healthy, etrapping girlsi why cant u"cS
dance with one another. II need be- and epjoy them
se,ves In the natural happy abandon of youth and
co,e+v without all this nonsense? Why, have heard
dozens T., u en- say that all their anticipated enjoy
ment Of dance is completely spoiled by the absurd
fear OF being a waD0ower. II the agitatorS OF "'e
day were to talk Of woman's rights IN u @ihoom
there would be some sense In that"
"Never use turpenttne 10 take the paint on your
hands but always use Kerosene" said pretty ana
energetic lady who plies the brush most Vigorously
albeit in very utllitaian fashion-panting her boa's
doing all the necessary household renoVatlohs' anu
not disdaning to varnsh her own village cart
when II needs It. "Turpentine roughens the hands
excessively she continued but kerosene, on me
contrary keeps them beautifully soft and white. For
your brushes you should always keep snoli keg OF
the Oil ready, and put them in 1t directly, until you