The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-05-19
A PALLBEARER'S BANQUET.
WHAT HAPPENED AT THIS LATEST
FREAK OF FASHION.

and Decorations We're Iu Those
CoIOrS.
From the New Orleans Picayune.
Fashion has manufactured many SURF
| Gus things in the way Of eating functions
There are pink teas. bachelor dinners and
| breakfasts, the farewell repasts Of groom
or bride, and a host Of similar excuses
for the consumption Of good things of the
earth and happy surroundings. But now
| all previous records of this kind have been
| distanced by the advent Of the balIbearers'
/ banquet
1t Is not every one that give a pail
| bearers banquet, and there will naturally
De an extensive limit TO the fashion. Up
to date there has been but one function OF
this Kind and the few people who have
Z heard about the affair seriously doubt that
II ever occurred. They declare that the
only existence it has lies in the brain Of
I a, Wei known man who spends much of
| ms slme m the Broadway hotels of the
4enderloin district, and who has no other
occupation than the spending Of a large
/ l l',,tIe IN Ihe pursuit of pleasure. This
gentleman has no particular reputation
I Us a disciple of Ananias neither is he
WoIiu-tamed as the lover OF the goddess
y, ruin. he told me a very interesting
stSiy ABOUT the pallbearers' banquet and
WINE y may not be an heroic illustration
/ OF unadulterated veracity il has the charm
El oGaty. 1t will be retold in the original
iutG udse as nearly as possible.
You know" he said, that - died
- TINE ago he mentioned the name
/ OF a rich Young New Yorker. who some
| years ago made Paris howl at his extraV-
asalice' VINO was plunger in Wall street
az anger In the theatrical sense OF
me me wore, and who for the past two years
ras peeh either travelling quietly about
win his wife or living in this city His
/ VIE had been an actress
| - was one Of the pallbearers at the fun
eIdl ana felt very badly over the loss of
/ my old friend. So did the i've other fell
/ lows who OBLIGATED with me, and / know
/ StnaI me widow thought that the light had
peeh plotted out of the world when he
/ passed away. She had been a good wife
/ 70 him. and although she was a thorough
I woman or the world, who had known the
/ sung OF adversty in early life, the fact
/ that she had become absolute mistress OF
an income OF $4,000 a year did not take
the edge Off of her grief, 1t was genuine,
/ ana ali us pallbearers pitied her
We We're all his intimate friends, and
/ tHIee OF US mad been in college with him.
! ne was the first Of the crowd 10 marry
/ put that had not interfered with our
/ friendships. Many times he and his wife
and We the subsequent pallbearers. had
/ Deen TO the theater together ana after
| ward nadia nice supper that kept Us up till
/ in the morning, and the lady stood the
strain as well as any of us. Her stage
ne had made her a regular night bird
/ ana she was Wittier and brighter and
/ could say more clever things in the early
morning hours than any dozen men
AFTER his death Mrs. Jack-we always
| called him Jack, which wasn't his name
and his wife Mrs Jack-rarely went out
/ OF her home up on the West side.
| called there once, but in answer to nv
| card she sent down word by the maid
mat l must excuse her, that she could not
! see any one.
Il thought that she must be in a bad
way, and had half mind to have talk
| with the other fellows and see If some
| thing couldn't be done to make her 20
| out and take an interest i'm somethinp
| But week later, that was last week
| l found in my mail a black-bordered en-
| Velope addressed in Mrs. Jacks handwrit-
ing. That made me gasp. 1t was an in
| Vltatlon that / should attend blanc ct
| noir' banquet My knowledge of French
| Is limited, but ] managed to figure out
that it was a black and white dinner,
! and postscript told me that only six Of
| Jacks most intimate friends would be
! there. When l was in Paris some five
| years ago l had heard of a widow who
| mad given a dinner called blanc ct noir.
| to the pallbearers at her late husbands
| funeral, and / knew in minute that this
was the idea of Mrs. Jack. The invitation
| came on Tuesday, and the dinner was set
| for Friday night / called on all the other
| fellows before that time, and we did some
tall talking and guessing about what
| would happen.
I'VE reached Mrs. Jacks house within
| ten or fifteen minutes of each other
| around o'clock, and a half hour later
we were ushered into the dining room.
! There the widow received us IT was a
| little bit unconventional and for her not
| to have met us in the drawing room, but
| we We're all old friends. and put it down
| TO one OF her many eccentricities.
| THAT dining room was a sight, and at
| first glance l didn't quite like it. The
widow herself was charming. She was
| all in black chiffon, and her jet black
| hair was smoothed down on either side
! of her white forehead, and l at once
thought she was blanc ct noir sure
The table was an oblong affair cover
| ed with white cloth edged with q wide
/ border of black The candelabra vas of
white enamel, with rings of black and the
| candles themselves were of white wax
| trimmed with black, and each was fitted
! with black and white shade.
"All of the china was of white, with jet
| black borders. The plates looked rather
| odd with their wide circles of black, also
| the large napkins with an edging of the
| same sombre hue. We six pallbearers had
| looked for something unique, but all this
| was quite unexpected. We were in con-
| VentiOnal evening dress, and the plain
black and white Of our attire did not mar
| the general effect particularly, as we all
| Wore black craVats
There were four walters for the seven
at the table, and they were pictures. They
| We're all jet black negroes; not ordinary
| negroes, but those of the coal-black type.
| They were dressed in swallow-tail coats
| of black broadcloth, and in the white bes-
| oms of their shirts were black enamel
| studs. They wore black silk knickerbock-
| ers tied at the knee with narrow white and
/ black silk ribbons. White silk hose and low
black shoes. with white enamel buckles,
| completed the outfit
"A little bunch of white vlolets was at
! each mans place. The chairs had been
| redecorated In white and black, and a
! huge rug of the same was on the floor.
/ In the center of the table was a mass
| of white roses, white Violets and lilies
| of the valley. The stems has been cut off
close to the flower, and not vestige OF
/ green could be seen. The flowers had
| been wired to broad bands OF black rib
/ bon, giving the same effect of black and
/ white. OF course, so much of the same
/ two colors sounds monotonous. but it did
/ not seem so to me, because of the in
| genuity shown in the whole affair. Every
| where ! looked | found some fresh exam
| pie of black and white. On the wall back
| of the hostess was a large crayon Of JACK,
| and the frame had been carefully wound
/ with black and white ribbon, thoroughly
! concealing the gilt.
| Mrs. Jack was self-possessed, and none
/ of US were the kind of men TO be amazed
| at anything In the way of decorations.
| OutWardly we took everything as If IL
were absolutely conventional, but inward
| ly | know that every man felt that ne
was a part of a picture only to be seen
| once in a lifetime The dinner was a
| gem. l have been at banquets costing