The Indianapolis journal., 1894-01-06
GERHARD WILL WE'D
New YOrk's Gay Man About Town
Weaned Of His Lilly" Love.
Mrs. Langtry Forgotten for the Charms
of Miss Louise Morris, Beauti-
full Baltimore Belle.

BALTIMORE, Jan. 5.-The enga cement
of the beautiful Miss Louise H. Norris to
Mr.. frederick Gebhard, Of New York, just
announced, has caused a decided stir in
local society circles, though ii had been
known for some time that Mr.. Gebhard was
a devoted admirer. Mr.. Gebhard first met
Miss Norris at Narragansett Pier about
year ago. He has been here quite frequent
ly since last October. He stopped at the
Mount Vernon Hotel. at the last junior
cotlion Miss Morris carried an enormous
bouquet containing more than one thousand
volets. 1t is said to have been the most
exquisite and unique floral design ever seen
in a ball room. During the week life
sized picture of Miss Morris has been on
exhibition here. 1t was painted by Mr..
Charles Peale Older and represents Miss
Morris in evening dress, with a fur cape
on her shoulders. Mr.. Gebhard was SO
taken with the picture that he is now ne
gotiating for its purchase.
Miss Morris is d familiar hgure to Balti-
moreans. She is a great pedestrian, and is
often seen Charles street, accompanied
by the little skye terrier presented by her
fiance some time ago. The little animal
always wears a collar of the same material
and color as the ribbon in his mistresss
hat. Mrs. Robert Garrett took great
fancy TO Miss Morris when she appeared
in society, and has since invited her TO all
gatherings at her residence, wnen she In
variably assisted the hostess in receiving.
The Morris family is one of the oldest in
Of Louise, Inherited large fortune from
his father, and is considered one of the
was a Miss Louise Van Dyke, of Phila-
dephia- Miss Morris has one sister, Mil
dred, who will come out next year, and a
brother, Mr.. John b. Norris, third, who is
a well-known clubman. Mr.. Gebhard, who
will remain here this week, was much con-
A New York correspondent, in comment
ing on the engagement, says that, as
Thackeray said of Amelia, il may be
said of Gebhard, that he is at last in port.
His engagement is announced, and the rich
and in many respects most attractive New
York man of the world, who has been en-
gagged SO many times, according to popular
report, and who might have been engaged
and long ago have married any one of a
dozen bellies of Murray Hill, but who of
late has been believed to be confirmed in
sybaritic celibacy, has pledged his troth to
a Baltimore girl. They knew, when they
saw Mr.. Gebhard in the presence OF this
beautiful woman recently that at last he
had capitulated, and they were quite pre-
pared for the announcement that comes
from Baltimore this morning.
Gebhard knows as well as any man what
the life Of a man of the world in New
York is; he drank that cup to it's full,
and they told the strangeSt stories of some
of his experiences; how he used to eat $50
have married her had the law permitted
how nervy he was upon the race track;
what his capacity for consuming the choic-
est BurgundieS and champagneS was, and
yet Notwithstanding all these gossiping re-
ports, none meritorious, some repellant,
none of those who knew Gebhard could fail
TO feel the influence of a certain charm
which his presence always caused. That
was probably due not only to courtesy
but TO an intuitive feeling at the bottom,
Notwithstanding his careless life, he was
a man of honorable impulse. Many men
have tried to initiate Freddy Gebhard's
manner, 1t was the perfection of that
nall lQd hN mol f~<i1
was no hypocrisy in the man, and he did
not conceal his life
Some two years ago Gebhard made up
his mind that the vineyards of France had
done all for him that any man ought to ex-
pect, and, not concealing his purpose nor
Dragging of it, he sought one of the gold
cure establishments nearby and made ar
rangements to enter upon n certain dav
There was peculiar, irresistible charm
ceding the day of that appointment he en-
tered a public resort and called for wine
He sat there with his friends, the same
be. calling for bottle after bottle with
something of that GOODNESS, and careless
gayety as well, with which the romance
writer's have pictured men of the world
just before they go upon the field Of honor
There was a suggestion in his manner of
that old beau described by Daudet in THE
Nabob, who dressed himself with fastid-
iuos care, went forth upon the boulevard
lisping his compliments TO the women of
the nobility whom he met, and then dis
appeared IN a remote bath house, TO be
seen alive no more.
Gebhard sat through the night with his
friends and arose from the table of cir
cumspect hiarity when the morning came.
bathed his face and took the train for that
place where they cure the desire by hypo-
dermics. From the day that he left that
sanitarium TO this Gebhard has been a
total abstainer. He is Incorporate only
IN the use of one of, the mineral waters
He will always be a man of pleasure, but
he will be no longer a man of dissipation,
and now that he has taken new obliga-
tions upon himself, his name will pass into
tradition one of the most interesting and
in his experiences most romantic of those
young men of fashion who gave New York
in the past fifteen years the distinctive life
or much of it as il has had, of a fash
ionable man of the world.