The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1895-03-22
Especial CoTrespondence.I

ting Handsome Toilets and Famous
women-LoiterIng Over the Green Cloth.
fSpcciaI Correspondence
HOTEL DE PARIS, Monte Carlo, Feb. IS.
In the morning after your coffee am
rolls and little corkscrews OF unsalted but
ter you GO into the sunlight and lift your
face to the caressing breath of flowers from
the gardens along the way and from ell oi
natures sweets hidden on those big.
watchful. purple hills rising like citadcls
above this principality that has no dupi-
cate In the whole world. Oranges and
roses mix on tho villa walls till you feel
in a haze and ask If this be rea ~ day In
February. Monte Carlo Is bower OF How
ers, n veritable paradise, or so it seems
until you como out on the plaza that
leads to the Casino.
1t is crowded, it IS filed with nnurmur-
ing voices, and fever somehow commu
nicates itself to you. The doors Of the beau
tiful gambling house are still closed, Tor
it lacks 20 minutes Of II, the opening
hour. You know you arc surrounded -
tho serious gamblers who seek Monte Carl"
as others OF well ordered soul go into
business venture. Nowhere among this
crowd is there any lazy lordling in search
or excitement. He Will stroll in later
when the rooms are full. Nowherei Is there
any curiosity seeker like myself. 4 ter
ribIc Carncstncss, nervousness, speculation
speak from every eye.
The Game Begins.
IN a twinkIing, after the doors Opcu.
every seat at the dozen and morc superbiy
mounted green tables is taken, and stand
ing circles are soon formed. The croupiCrs
-four at each table-take their places
and the play begins. The roulette wheel
buzz, the ball of fate leaps in its circle, all
over the numbered spaces the gold and sill
ver are staked, and every eye Is fastened
ON tho dizzily whirring wheel.
What number will tho ball fall intC:"
What color VIII tho number be OnE'
These are the thoughts in every mind.
20 from table to table. One Englishman
loses 500 in half an hour and doesn't
wink IN cyelash. An old grandam, IN
doubtcdly French, who from the wicked
~ lined face seems winding up bad lifc
to q consistent close, wins 90 franc pieces
TO the tune OF $500 and rakes them wi,h
claw nails into an antiquatcd purse.
BY and by the 'swells" stroll in. And
this IL where you see the swells at this
season from every quarter Of the glDla
In tho moving tablcau, where tho car
tanned sunlight mixes with green lis1;
from tho tables, there are imperial, scTCH-
and royal highncssGS galore, rich a nIeriCai.
and even potential dignitarieS from AsiGsi,
lands. They play. So do their wives ard
sisters. So do the jcweled and rougel
women of the half world" who make
Monte Carlo a raIlying ground. So does
the young English girl, who comes IL
with her aorid papa, and who laugh.
musically when she wins, and stamps h"-
by no means tiny foot when she doesn't
So does the young French girl of tho mid
die class, who follows in the wake of
portly grandmother. Every body plays
a queer place this Monte Carlo-a place.
Of moving contrasts, little hell of unhoh
ness in jewellike setting that seems H.
spired by heaven.
Come from this FIRST table where the
play lags little and stroll down the room.
TbaS-ItSSi6 man there, wearing monOCle.
whose face Is high bred and fatigued, VIII"
leans over tho shoulder of pretty Eng
nsh woman amusedly watching her in
genuous play-wherc have you seen hin!
before1 That IS England's foremost com
poser, Sir Arthur Sullivan. Who knows
what new aria to delight millions may not
be born of this rhythmic clinking of gold
as the croupiors rake in the losses Hnd
ding out the gainsy
The Empress OF Austria.
a woman sweeps past, one Of party 81
four. Her oycs are proud, her lip softly
scornful. 1t IS evident she takes but n
passing interest in tho scene. Born To
command" speaks from her every easy
pose, but when she smiles her lace DghtS
into sympathetic sweetness. We need not
make any surmisCs as to her identity-thC
whisper has gone nround-it is tho EN-
press OF Austria.
How close she IS to that young, dainty,
exquisitely gowncd woman, tho center Of
a group of mcnl Is she an empress too?
She looks &C. Perfectly groOmed, her pale
face untouched by cosmetique, her bearing
modest, refined, her gown and hat OF rich,
simple ruby velvet, she seems born 10
throne, and yet the measureless distance
between tho status Of tho two women, To-
the latter Is tho well known Nellie" who
helped an American capitalist to get rid
OF Some Of his millions whilo In Paris last
fall There are many like her here; but
unlike her, most Of them wear their his
tories on their faces. Chief among the
celebrities, resplendent, wealthy and look
ing ten years younger than when she
danced ut tho Eden Musee in New York,
IS Ia belle Otero. She IS gambling heavily,
Llaying big game, and, it Is said, carries
to her hotel at least from 5000 francs to
$4,000 in winnings every night. Her