The Washington times., 1895-03-03

| Ing penancc as TO be oblivlOuS to all else.
Lent in Washington society invariably
means great clearing house for the good
stories, the gossip and talk that has been
accommodating throughout the length and
breadth Of the season. The present Lent is
no exception in this matter. Already
those same interesting bits of fgossip are GO
ing the rounds and being discussed with
vigor between church services.
Quite the newest and most sensational in
this line comes direct from the mazes OF
society's whirl in the great French capital
1t has to deal of course with sundered
hearts, the breaking pp of once happy
household, and the general clatter of fam
lily jars. The grand climax will be
dramatically brought before the public in
this country. The correspondent moreover
is a well-known Washington society man.
now abroad as one OF the secretaries of an
American embassy.
! The husband and wife in the case are or
! iginally from New Jersey, in which state
the divorce suit is TO be taken for trial
/ For n number of years past the couple have
/ formed an important part of the American
NbiOils III ans aH tlltg 1it INC lttfS>lSSpIs
| of great wealth. 1t has been apparent re-
Gently to their friends that the former bliss
/ full relations Of the couple were undergoing
a very decided change, and now that the
/ murder is at last out, all Paris is talking
eagerly over the decidedly sensational de
/ tails as at present promulgated by the irate
husband The American colony indeed
I talk or think at present Of little else, and
various members Of that society have writ
ten back to their friends in Washington
/ some Of the inside facts of the case that Will
undoubtedly come out at the time Of the
/ approaching divorce suit in this country.
Another Interesting bit OF gossip talked
/ over is IN regard to a rumored marriage
/ in Washington society concerning which no
public announcement has yet been made.
According to the story, the couple who are
in the SWEETEST set in Washington. quietly
went of and were legally married some
good while since, but because of certain
very good and sufficient reasons have de-
cided that for the present they Will remain
before the world and in fact as two rather
! than as matrimonial unit
That it is not always safe to even Jest
upon the subject Of runaway marriages
has been clearly proved to the satisfaction
of two families prominent III society
within the past two weeks. Not long
since at a luncheon given to q party OF
young ladies, several OF the number in joke
agreed topretend that they had read in one
of the local papers OF runaway marriage
in the fashionable set This Joke was
! accordingly carried out in all innocence,
bat with the Sorriest consequences as con-
Germs the friendship of two families,
who OH that account no longer speak as
they pass by, and bet tween whom the gaUDt-
let Of war has been openly laid down. The
girls who had agreed upon starting the
little Joke, came into the room where the
other guests had assembled for the luncheon
aud after the greetings, proceeded 10 throw
the stuffed bomb into the midst OF the com
pany. OF course there was a regular buzz
of talk and conjecture after that. and each
giri was IL turn called upon to state whether
or not she was one of the principals in the
matter.
Apparently everyone took the question
ing i'll good part and entered into the laugh
that followed the speedy denial Of the soft
Impeachment Beneath this smiling eX
terror, however, there appears to have
slumbered a volcano OF wrath on the part
of one OF the guests, who, the following
afternoon meeting at tea one of the girls
who had started the joke, accosted her in no
too polite fashion with the announcement
that she understood her name YVES being
mentioned generally as that of the person
who had run away to Baltimore and been
married. That this being tie case, she
wished an immediate contradiction OF The
matter set afloat. and that in futare desired
all mention whatsoever Of her name left out
OF any conversation in which her hearer
might indulge. This was SO decidedly in
the nature of an avalanche that the girl who
had been one of those to start thefittle joke
had no re jonder to make other than TO as
sert that she had started no such report in
regard to her friend, nor even dreamed Of
using any persons name III this matter.
This explanation did not avail. how
ever, and the families of the two girls hay-
ing taken up the matter with vigor there is
quite a tornado of feeling, all emanating
from the innocent little joke. One of the
families declares that in consequence they
VIII leave no stone unturned until they have
| successfully routed from society the other
family. This naturally has caused con-
siderable merriment on the part of society,
as there is so much inner history in the line
of family trees, escutcheonS, and such mat
ters, as to make it very entertaining.
Announcement is soon TO be made OF an
engagement of two young people in society
who for a long time has been looked
upon as likely to furnish interesting matter
for conversation and congratulations in
thismatter. The announcement was inreality
made in the spring among their friends,
but was later so vigorously denied that
the impression gained ground that it had
been broken off, if in reality it had ever eX-
listed. The young man in the case is first
and foremost in all out-of-door sports, es-
pecially in the nature of hunts and paper
chases.
There is one of the large, handsome
houses in Washington that has no inside.
| That, at least, is what is strenuously u.s.
serted OF 1t by a witty woman in society.
Her reason for so declaring is that for the
| period of seven years she has been calling
regularly once q season at the house in ques-
ton in return for the call made upon her by
the young lady living i'll themysterious man
sion. AS fate would have it, never upon any
occasion in all these years has the young
woman ever been at home when the return
! call was made. Therefore, in view of this
| fact the witty woman making the unsatis-
! factory return calls declares that she knows
| there is no inside to the house; that there
is nothing buttie big front door with a but
| Ter behind it. and that is the reason she has
never been allowed to cross the threshold
and inspect the vacancy beyond.
At one of the most fashionable hotels
in Washington there is a couple upon whom
society does not smile-a couple to whom
in fact, an entrance into the great body
elect of society could be effected only by the
interposftion of miracle. As the days of
miracles in fact are decidedly out of date,
and the feat of having camel go through
the eye OF a needle is beyond the ken OF the
end of the century attainments, that same
couple, having by their own actions for
ever ostracised themselves from society,"
| are now and must ever remain in the outer
| darkness of social oblivion. To many it is
q matter OF astonishment that they should