The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-08-23
DECAYED GENTLEWOMEN.
How They Are Cared For in New
Orleans.
zion the & OrIeans Plcayune.

] UEleaE&s
From the New Orleans Picayune.
McClure's Associated Literary Press
| publishes the following tribute to La So
| ciete Hospitaliere. written by Mrs. Lyle
o. Harris Of this city
Perhaps the most unique and beautiful
charity in America is that Of La societe
| Hospitaliere OF New Orleans. Its mem
bers charge themselves with the hous-
ing and partial maintenance Of as many
gentlewomen Of decayed fortune as their
means will permit
Early in the seventies there died in
| New Orleans a certain Mr.. Henderson,
who left a sum of money, the interest Of
/ which was to be distributed monthly
among the needy in the American quar-
/ ter, and in the French district Nile. Cor
| reJolles, a Creole lady, was chosen as
/ almOner for FrenchtOwn, and in the
| course Of her ministrations found many
/ ladies Of aristocratic lineage and once
| splendid fortune. who had been beggared
| by the war and were now living in abject
/ and squalid poverty.
To these women Of gentle breeding all
| Of the privations and hardships of pow
| erty were easy to be borne in comparison
| with the poignant misery of a life spent
/ in a squalid tenement, and in contact
! with a low, ignorant and often debased
| class Of people. This was the daily cru
| cihxion over which they groaned and
| prayed God to deliver them.
| Mile. CorrejOlles was soon convinced
| that if these ladies could be decently
housed. and having no rent to meet,
! that they could manage to earn enough
/ to buy their own food and clothing. But
! how to compass this was her great per-
plexity. However, &c que femme veut,
| Dieu veut. She began to work for La
| Maison Hospitaliere, in which TO shelter
! some of these unfortunate ladies. In 1879
she organized La Societe Hospitaliere on
a small scale. Membership dues were
| only 10 cents month, but each was to
| interest as many persons as possible in
| the project and to get their aid. With
the money thus raised the society rent
| ed a few rooms and installed within them
| a limited number of ladies. But the So
| ciety grew richer, gave fetes and fairs,
| and at last Mile. Correjoes was trium-
| plant La SOciete had money enough TO
/ buy a house. In March, 1898, an old
| time, home-looking Creole dwelling was
bought, and thirty-five ladies, as many
| as 1t could accommodate, were invited to
make this their home.
Each lady has her room to herself and
| as the Creole clngs with tenacity to her
| ancestral belongings it so happens that
| these rooms are all comfortably furnish
ed, some in antique mahogany or rose
wood with a few pieces of fine porcelain
or crystal or marble The floors are
bare, but most beautifully clean, each
| occupant doing every bit of the work
of her own menage. The entire place is
a marvel of cleanliness and order.
The one kitchen is common TO all, but
many prefer to prepare their meals in
their own rooms.
There are few restrictions imposed, no
more than are usual in any well-ordered
family. Each ones privacy is inviolable;
she is as secure from the prying eyes of
curious visitors as though she were in
her own house
1t is easy to see that the family code
was framed by a lady sympathetic to the
hearts core. And, indeed, Nile. CorTe-
jolles is grande dame to the tips of her
| fingers. gentle and soft-voiced and a born
organizer. La Societe also furnishes its
: proteges with coal and their daily bread
:, But all are skillful mediterranean who
have as many orders as they can fill Sew
eral make lace, exquisite embroideries and
artificial flowers for church affairs. Their
earnings are small, but then their wants
are few. They dress plainly. and their
simple food, which they make savory in
the cunning Creole fashion, does not cost
many sous each day. And they all seem
so content, so cheerful and buoyant, some
even full of gay badinage.
1t is quite true that none of ces DANES
de Ia Maison give any luncheons or pink
teas, yet not day passes but Mile de -
- presents with her compliments some
little delcatesse to Nine. -- or Veuve
de la -- begs Madame la Generate to
be kind enough to share with her some
dainty just sent her by a friend.
All of these well-born women We're once
rich. The stories of their descent into the
avenues Of poverty would make agonizing
reading.
La Maison Hospitaliere is on Barracks
street. where in the ancient days of gar
risoned New Orleans, trumpets blared
! and soldiers marched, and where many a
gay and sparkling Frenchman loitered
But now the street is still and quiet If
you enter the little wicket at the side Of
lie Maison you are ushered into a pleas
ant spacious courtyard, set about with
parterres of roses and pot plants of the
inmates At the further end of the court
is enshrined the image of Our Lady of
! Prompt SuccOr, and at one side is a pref
ty little chapel. These spring afternoons
the ladies bring their chairs out into the
plaisance to enjoy the tepid air scented
with orange blossoms and sweet olive and
roses. and hold a comfortable eauserie.
What plucking of intricate genealogies
from oblivion What a matching of kim
dreds and friends from the darkness. and
what a revealing of them into living re-
alities for their old hearts to feed upon.
Then one will recall how another was the
belle at a celebrated ball and what tot
lettes magnifiques both wore, and then.
with inimitable drollerie, contrast with it
their dress of to-day. And how they
adore their guardian angel Mile. Core
jolles, whose face is cut like a cameo
whose skin is like a roseleaf. whose ewes
are soft and brown and loving. whose
heart is as tender and whose charity as
great as that Of Jean Vatican.
Superstition.
From the Washington Post.
Just day before yesterday was IN +bo