Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1895-03-10
DURANDAL'S NEW YORK LETTER
BUDGET OF LIVE TOPICS FROM THE
METROPOLIS.
Girls who Have been
struck By the Living Picture Craze.
Light and Airy Costumes which
They Appeared in.


New York Letter in Enquirer.
Most men would have paid eXorbitant
prices to see a show given recently In a
big house In Madison avenue, near
Flfiy-eighth. but that wouldn't have
helped them any. They would not have
been admitted, for the exhibit was one
OF living pictures that most men would
have gone miles to see. It's pity, In
at least one sense. for the charitable
work in benefit OF which the pictures
were presented must be accounted a
heavy loser on account OF the money
thus kept away. This is how 1t came
about: Certain charming girls were
struck by the living picture craze.
They were hit very hard, and the or
binary, innocuous unsuggestive, heavl-
~ draped figures that have served often
enough in amateur shows of this kind
were not enough for them. They were
just wild to get into fleshngs and pose
in attitudes as nearly impossible as
they could discover In any Of kray's
paintings, for example; and, of course,
there would be no fun in the thing IL
they could not have somebody around
TO see them ut it. II may have been
ltllsll htN HfANit lllul Wien Il lil AlNh-
larry nice girl gets an idea into her
head that she would like to do some
thing very outrageous. or that goes to
the giddy edge Of improperly, she usu-
ally finds way to do 1t, and most
highly respectable excuse for 1t also
These girls did. The living picture
craze in all its startling shapeliness
buzzing around in their thoughts pro-
volIed lot OF talk first, as Wouldn't
II be glorlousg what an dear and
so on. For a time there was too much
confusion of Ideas and intentions to
admit OF any progress being made. but
at last a plan was settled ON by which
the show should be brought about
One Of the most important obstacles
to eventual success was the feeling on
the part of some Of the ambitious mod
els that they would be suspected OF
posing slightly clad just for the novelty
and excitement OF the thing. So chart
TVS uil-COVering power was made use
Of TO excuse the simulated nukcdness
Of these swagger maids. ] don't know
just what benevolent enterprise was
the gamer by the AFFAIR, for 1t was all
kept profoundly secret. A gang OF
East Side sporting gents couldn't
have moved with more mystery and
caution In the prelmnaries to a prize
fight or cooking main. Those who
were TO take actual part In the display
were solomnly pledged to say absolute
ly nothing to anybody. and the others
We're bound TO exercise the most extra
ordinary discretion In inviting specta-
tors. The latter were to be limited to
members of the interesting sex, and
every one Of them was in turn given to
understand that a requirement to adj
mission To- the show. in addition to a
very steep money tax. was secrecy
as 10 date, place and performers, both
before and after the event So it came
easily TO pass that every lady who was
invited to buy a ticket esteemed It n
high privilege to be allowed to do So
and for | don't know how many days
there was an atmosphere OF suppressed
excitement pervadlug rather large
circle Of women who move in high So
ciety.
Considering that there We're so many
Of them, they kept their secret pretty
well. | don't think there was anything
more than n vague suspicion of what
was going on in the mind of any man
previous to the show, and though II
was inevitable that some knowledge of
1t should get abroad afterward, the do
talls have still been pretty well guard
ed We know that the show was given
IN the afternoon, and that the place
was the drawing room Of one OF the
largest houses In the city. IL seems
to have been successful, too, from an
artistic point of view. Financially il
suffered from the absence of men and
the heavy bills for costumes and aces
sories. From all ! hear, most Of tho
costumes were slight enough In mate
rial and quantity, but they cost money
just the same.
No woman can be made to admit that
she mad anything to do with the affair.