The San Francisco call., 1896-08-09

LONDON, ENGLAND, July 20.-London
during the past week has been ike
hothouse: even when the sky was
yelled and of dim rose gray the heavy
air beat upon the windows like sunlight,
but for the greater part of the time the
sun nas poured down upon an ungratefui
world and the perspiring inhabitants
thereof.
In the studios it has been especially
sultry, and dim twilight effects and grace
fully somnolent attitudes have been tenn
porarily popular. The flies alone nave
waxed and grown fat and have shown an
increasing cheerful activity.
Outside in the great world the streets
are alive with people; the season has
burst into second crop of entertain
ments, the parks are pageants, the thea
ters and the opera ere crowded to the
doors. The gowns in the carriages are OF
an almost tropical smartness, and the
flowers in the hats blaze and bob like
lanterns in high Wind.
In a few weeks old newspapers will be
pressed against the glass doors and win
dows of the houses in Mayfair and Park
Lane. and London will settle into mid
summer dreariness and desolation. A few
million people will pursue their ordinary
vocations with hollow assumption of
enjoyment, and the daily papers will
chronicle the movements of the distin-
guished at the various watering places.
Three days ago my friend Mrs. Whiteha
entered the torrid atmosphere of the
studio. She brought wave of freshness
with her-a freshness that was partly the
E L ~
the roses that fourlshed in her hat, prin-
cipally the breeze that seemed always to
fiutter her garments and her hair and her
speech. On that day, however, her face
seemed inextinguishably radiant.
I've come for you," she announced,
with that calm certainty of expectation
that is triumph in itself. "We've lot
of invitations and dances and things and
teas and the opera. That Mr.. Thing
unmy-you remember him, L said he
looked like boiled owl-he wants US to
have tea on the terrace"
whats the terrace?" demanded Miss
Verdantina Grey from an inner room, IN
which she was improving her opportuni-
ties for the cultivation of her mind with
pair of scissors. great many pins in her
mouth and a very deeply absorbed ex-
preston.
Mrs. Whitehall lifted her angelic eyes
to mine with the deepest reproach and
dropped four or five invitations and visit
ing cards.
"It is something you'll like" she re-
piled. you'll love it. It's to go to
dinner-to studio dinner. You know
Mr.. Langham Graves-it's at has studio;
SO 1 accepted for you. of course. 1 knew
you'd be charmed. And then-why then
we go to Mrs. Jopling Rowe; she's going
to give-a fancy dress ball"
"a fancy-dressp' 1 echoed. 'And may
inquire what your fancy dress is to be-
and mine?"
OF course we went. Mrs. Whitehall
had a formidable list of arrangements
which covered every hour of three days
between in the afternoon and l at night
We went first to an "At Home" Mrs.
Whitehat prepared our minds for US be-
fore we reached the house.
miss Staine is great fun,'' she an
nounced, land so is her sister. She is
very big indeed and awfully musical and
literary. They'll have music and litera-
ture in equal doses. She knows every
body. They'll have lot of things to eat,
and warn you you'd better take advan-
tage of the opportunity. You'll need all
your strength when you get upstairs"