The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1894-02-14
LADIES LIBRARIES.
RICH WOMEN WHO SELECT BOOKS
AND READ THEM.

In Mrs. John Mackay's Partisan home
the library has a surplus Of American
books. The Princess CoIonna. the daugh-
ter Of the house, says this Is 70 assuage
her fathers honesicLness. Nathaniel
Hawthorne, Washington Irving, Long
fellow and James Russell LoWell's works
hold first place. Mrs. Tackay's love OF
patriotism has tempted her 70 fill the
apartments with American curiOsities.
including many old Indian wood cary
ings, frameworks and brackets Of dried
shells and herb roots and antique imple-
ments Of warfare. At their residence IL,
Italy the Mackays have a small but ex-
pensive collection Of books Of antiquity
and a gOodly number Of the standard
novels, encyclopedias and histories. But
it is in London that this American queen
shows TO the full her pride in fine fam
lily library. Here she mas given over a
suit OF sunny square rooms TO the de-
votion of books and their authors.
The furnishings include valuable busts
Of the Greek poets, the early English
writer's and some American and German
philosophers.
Many pleasant morning and afternoon
lectures are heard In this retreat, and
some of the finest scholars Of our century
have made their debut az public speak
ers here.
The great family Libraries OF the As
tors, the Goulds, the Vanderbilts, the
BelInonts, the Goelets and the Townsend
Burdens find have been almost wholly
furnished after tine design and sistes Of
the women OF the families. In all these
old residences there is the library, where
the master Of the house secludes himself,
and where each member of the family
goes to study or iInbibe by atmospheric
influence the beauties, decorations and
books.
Miss Helen Gould has a library Of her
own, and IL is more interesting from the
fact that she has chosen every book in it
herself and arranged them TO suit her
fancy. For fnancier's daughter, it
may seem peculiar that her mind runs TO
poetry. Miss Gould in her library makes
pleasing picture. She is tall, slender
and dignifed. She is not faultless in
face and figure, but she Is in character.
Her coloring is excellent, and she has
the manners of a Boston girl
She has upon q long series of shelves a |
full set of the books by modern poets, |
clothed I'm white and gold. She has a |
fancy for collecting all the poetical |
works of women, and she has several |
hundred volumes by almost unknown |
feminine poets. Histories, art books and |
with the standard philos-
ophies, make up fine realm of study, |
and Miss Gould is student. She enjoys /
the intimate friendship of Mrs. Russell
Sage, the wife of the millionaire, who is
\ graduate of the Emma Willard semi
nary and q well read and much Travelled
woman. Mrs. Sage's mind turns TO his
torical novels and works of fiction, but |
owing TO her husbands love of religious
books she has made a collection of the
works of Sayce, Renan, Madden, Lumby, |
Hooker, Woodhouse, Leathes and other
great sacred writer's.
Mrs. Theodore Sutro, distinguished
society leader, has royalty furnished Ii
brary. The decorations are dark, stump
tuous and steadfast. There are two mar
1uetry desks of value in the room and one
Did English escritoire. The woodwork
Is of wine colored mahogany, and there
are small beveled glasses on all sides.
which make everything appear doubly
luxurious. Shelves are set into the walls
Persian fabrics, filled in with silver and
gold geometrical figures, circles and ara
besques. Mrs. Sutro's library has over
s5O, 900 worth of books in it.
Mrs. Frank Leslie has a $50, 600 library |
at her business office and much more
costly one at her home in the Gerlach
hotel. Mrs. Leslie has n multitude of
foreign books. She possesses a taste for
studying languages and speaks well in
five tongues.
Mary Scott Rowland's eccentricity is
boarding up books upon health and
beauty. She has hundreds Of these vol
umes yellow with age and bound in the
choicest leather. A recent gift Of hers
to Patti was an antique reprint on the
toilet of Roman maiden. Mrs. Row
land has spent many seasons abroad
picking up the writings of noted French
and German writer's upon that subject
nearest to woman's heart-beauty.
Mrs. Paran Stevens owns n celebrated
library, and am told revels III
the study of Greek plays and Greek po-
etry.
Mime. Albert, whose palatial resi-
dence at 557 Fifth avenue Is filled with
paintings and exquisite bric-a-
brac, has library of Gothic fashion.
Everything in it partakes of that quaint
and inimitable style. Each article is
made for specific use, and the whole air
IS that of dignity. Nine. Albert, being
Of intensely artistic temperament, m
1erstands the wonderful beauty of break
ing lines and the changeful color of drap-
cry and uses it everywhere, topping the
upon which small books rest.
hanging on the shelves, rolling in folds
across tables and enriching chair and di-
van. These draperies usher one into
mysterious modR BETTING the home of
books. The silkvn scarfs and long sashes
are entirely covered with hand work,
Of open spaces of plain, rich
silk between broad bands of velvet, in
which triangles, rings and squares en-
circle griffins, peacocks, swallows, tigers