The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1896-04-26
mahogany frightened with Gilt in the

you will, but they are always marvel
lous studies Of beautiful furniture. Cos
sip says that julien Gordon sleeps IN
n bed shaped ike a swan, with drapines
OF lace about II: surely, slumbering IN
this way, the songs OF the swan sho1io
come TO her in her dreams. Oi iasn-
ionable divorcec IL used 10 De salo tha.
her bed was like huge hearse' heeVS
ana black. IL stood I'm the centre OF the
room on a raised platform, which mace
It necessary TO climb two steps 10 SET
IN a.. When IL was first brought over
from the other side, the heavy top was
lined with a French mirror. for ine pLr-
chaser did not know that French laaieS
objected TO this style OF bed, out ire
truth was soon discovered, the looHlne-
glass removed and rose-colored 'atlh put
in its place Those who know FAY that
this bedroom had barren, CCid iooh'
and all that II suggested was the oplh-
ion given Of Raphaers Madonna by
Carlyle's servant-"1t IL expensive.
QUEEN ELlHABETH'S WAYS.
That funereal type Is the sort OF peu
Queen Elizabeth ought TO have slept IN
This Queen Of England was undoubt@1iy
a woman OF great strength Of mind. NO
frivolous lace decorated her nightgown;
no rose-colored knots were here ard
there upon II, and no thin null made me
gown I'm which she dreamed. No. indeed
her fayorite nightgown was OF purple
velvet trimmed deliberately with gold
lace, This was sufficient reason Tor her
remaining a virgin queen.
Rut TO return TO beds. Mile. Mousseiine
must have a bed that looks simple ana IS
EXPENSIVE. 1t must be all white, us cur
tains of white Swiss muslin, It's ribbons
Of white satin: really. II must IN the hrst
place be as immaculate as the lilies ana
then II must be kept so. Ana that Is
why 1t costs so much. Mile Mousseiihe
draperies must be like herself. unspotted.
The fancy for the silk covor1ids on one s
bed has caused the heavy Marseilles
countcrpane to disappear. and this means
that Il is now possible for one - sleep
under something that is less In weight
than sheet iron, and which permits a
little more ventilation than stone wall.
Doctors tell that moro people nave Geo
from Marseiles countterpanes than from
pneumonia. and that Is saying Good
bit. The prettiest bed / ever saw was
Mrs. Langtry's. The bed Itself was
Chippendale; the draperes, soft gray bro
cade with tiny flowers in faint figures
upon them: the side curtains were Of
boiling cloth. those at the head Of tho
bed embroidered in peoples, and those at
the foot in morning glOries. But, after
all. it is not the bed or its draping, or
its covers. or its curtains. but II is the
sleep that one wants. And one may
have the softest bed in the world, and
yet the rose leaf hidden In 1t viii II
ritate the flesh and annoy the soul. IT
one Is awake. the hours Of the night are
lust as long if ones bed is draped In bro
cade. as II one slept without curtains
and on a hard cot.
GOTHAM AND ITS SHADES.
New York is rampant in color. From
royal purple TO burning scarlet, from sun
shiny yellow 10 a blue that blazes, there
is every color Of the rainbow, intensified
and made inartistic. Women's heads are
fopped by flower gardens. The styles are
not so pretty as they were when the sim
ple cloth gown and the small bonnet we're
in vogue. Considering the eXtravaSdacc
OF the poor, and they are the most eNua-
VACANT people in the world, II would
seem as if the old law regarding who
should and who should not wear velvet
brocade, silk or lace, fur or jewels, should
again be enforced. The lady wno pre-
sides in our kitchen is attired, On sun
day afternoon, in a gray cashmere win
a pink brocade waistcoat cuffs and collar,
and she is topped by a gray hat wreatLed
with pink roses yellow jonquils and
green leaves. Her coarse, rough hands
are squeezed in yellow kid gloves two
sizes two small for her. 1t has taken two
months wages To pay for this eei-up.
Her underclothes are In rags, her shoes
are run down at the heels, and she hasn't
a penny saved. Yet, in reality, she gets
better wages than the average shop girl,
inasmuch as she pays nothing for board,
and when holidays come, receives many
presents. The furore for rich materials
and bright colors is so great that, I'M
doubtedly, women with good taste VIII
cling during the summer months to
pretty cottons and to hats that hsve
not all of the flowers Of field and eafctn
and hot house upon them.
ON POVERTY AND ART.
There are so many kind ladies VINO are
willing to teach the lower classes r'any
good things. Just now, they seem nest
anxious TO make them appreciate fine pic
lures. | wish they might bang into their
heads something about the value OF
money and the sense of dressing 10 suit
ones condition I'm life. l can forgive the
overdressing Of a child; that IS mother
love. But, when women who nave 10
work hard for every dollar they possess.
spend it 50 ignorantly II Is quite tine,
either for the charitably inclined 20 teach
them better, or Tor the country 10 re-
vlve the old sumptuary laws. New Y ork
used 10 say that it was the West and the
South that overdressed. That can no
longer be its claim, for bOnnets and
frocks. parasols and belts, gloves and
wells are gaudy of the gaudiest. / ,hink
II some Of them could only see them
selves as others see them, they would
not crown wrinkles and crows feet with
roses Hundreds of years ago, the
Jewish maidens wore, in chatelaine fash
ion shall mirrors to show exactly
how they looked at certain times. Hand
mirrors would be of no use nowadays. If
the city would have cheVal glass az
every street corner. however, some good
might come and one would not see. As
one does nowadays, a shabby skirt with
"a eaudv overturned bodice: con
spicuous hat and a general air of over
dressing, that almost convinces one that
overtaIking, but not overthinking, is the
habit OF the wearer. ~ be bit slangy.
there is lust too much of the Bowery
skirt and the Fifth avenue bodice.
CONSISTENCY, WHERE ART THOU?
Consistency is lacking. Consistency in
everything. In politics and In religion
as well as in dress. How to stop II all?
Re the woman TO set a good example. Re
member that there is a time OF the day
that demands simplicity: remember that
churches were not intended as places to
exhibit the handiwork of the dressmaker
and the milliner Remember that the
gown suited to one woman Is utterly UNI
suited TO another and remember always
that one never orrs by dressing quietly
though daintlly. ] love pretty things.
I love 10 see women well-dresSed, but |
don't like this torrent of color and this