The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1896-06-26
FAIR SNAKE CHARMER.
The Duchess Of MARLBOROUGH and
Her Menagerie Of Snakes,
Eagles and OstrIehes,

The Duchess OF MARLBOROUGH and
Her Menaserie Of Snakes.
Eagles and OstrIehes,
London, April 9.-Ispecial:]-it takas
all the ingenuity and fnesse that wbni.
an can muster to engineer sticcessfults
the Social side of a political htisBand's
career through "sed5On' in a great
metropolis. and it has to be done along
the same lines it1 nearly all cases:
There is no chance for a woman. to
display any great originality. of thought
or method. The regular puiiiber Of ed
tertainments. to-. attend and to. be re-
turned and the careful classifying of tine
long lists of friends into cengenjal bands
for the smaller SOCIAL functions. ~.
Then there is a great store of cheerful
adapt!veness that has to be constantly
replenished, for it is drawn on sadly.
But when this busy season is over and
the women are allowed to recreate just
exactly in the way they choose. what
great dlversIt! Of taste they show and
how quickly the conventional manner is
thrown to the wind.
This comes particularly hard upon
American women Of title whose hus-
bands hold the highest places in British
social and political life and whose lot is
the hardest of any in the kingdom. Sure
~ it Is not strange that they look for
ward TO summer and its recreatons
Mrs. Joseph Chamberlain, speaking of
this, said: I'VE are both of us so tired
when vacation COMES that we are glad
to find little country place and slip
away to it to rest. My husband liter.
ally rests out his vacation. His inspira.
tons come from within. If he could
have with him his easy chair, it would
make no difference to him whether he
were relegated to the top of Mount Blanc
or to the depths of the Catacombs and
l am content to rock with him.
We select a quiet spot s',n,t*iaefe, q I'D
get acquainted all over again; and a5
all Lberalist and Fnioi,ist and the door:
bell rings every minute, Our vacations
are the only utiesehEful ones rs In Engiainid.
l think. for everybody else goes some
where or has a house party. 4 dear
trend OF mine, continued Mrs. Cham
| berlain, says:
"A vaca ton like that would mean rust
| ing out. Why. | would go back Il my
duties with my store of small talk 1T
such low "bb that my society and my
entertainments would be stunned by all
sensible people. But as for me, / enjoy
it IMMENSELY"
An uncongenial recreation affects pao-
PIE much IN the same way as do repeated
doses Of the wrong sorts Of tonic.
| The Duchess Of Marlborough has
| lightful summer at Blenheiln. and the
most novel one ever spent by a woman,
just as the duchess is the most novel
woman of the year. Eighteen. ond
everything i'll the world.
While travelling in the Southern cvun-
tries the duchess verified her charmingly
original tastes. Besides the usual col
lections of old rugs and draperips and
arms. she is bringing home with her
real live menagerie-two ostrlches. some
eagles and vultures. many snakes and an
ibis.
The star of this menagerie is a garter
snake that was purchased by the duch-
ess on the banks of the Nile. As she
was Il travelled woman she was not
afraid of the shake. and it soon became
tame enough to crawl towards her.
Then it was her established favor,te III
the list of pets,
\ large assortment of large snakes h;x
been purchased by his grace with the
evident intention to establish 4 ME
nagere at Rlenhem similar to the New
this the duchess takes the greatest ill.,
terest. She is able to approach ,auy of
the reptiles. and always knows how to
pet them without having them turn upon
her. Several times she has touched
snakes that the servant in charge
warned her were dangerous reptiles But
none harmed her. Ampng her, friends
the duchess has been .;illel 'thp titled
snake charmpr:" but tho nal,e anitnEs
her
There is Il gentle-eyed Nuhian boy in
his native costume in this train Of Gu
rioSities. and the duchess explains that
he is her suf'-lieutenant; fur she expects
to devote a gobdly part hf her SUMMER
to her new pets:
And by autumn she declares that
every single bird and beast in her new
collection shall know her. for every sin
gle day. with her Suh-leutenant. she Is
going to make the rounds Of her little
menagerie and feed all Of her pets with
her own hands.
Pretty Lady Torrance Blackwoud will
enjoy il very quiet though exceedingly
novel summer. Not very long ago the
papers announced the advent of a very
important guest at Lady Blackwood,>
home. and this little lady-the very pref
test newcomer in all England, they
Say-will claim the undivided attention
of Lady Blackwood for the summer
months.
But Lady Blackwood declares that
these months shall be most delightful
months and anything else but tedious.
for she and her little daughter are going
to literally live an out-of-door life.
There is a great ciump of shade trees
just to one side of the wide green lawn,
and it is going to be made the most at
tractive spot this summer. with bright
colored hammocks strung around and
lots of comfortable seats and soft cush-
ions.
Here Lady Blackwood expects to win
back the roses in her cheeks and fortify
herself for the next brilliant season.
Lady Randolph Churchill is d Most Ell;
thusiastic bicyclistt but the ankle that
she sprained so badly last year still
troubles her at times and sometimes
when she takes an outing instead of
mounting her wheel she mounts the
gallant little donkey that picks its way
slowly. down the shady little lanes and
waits patiently while its rider dsmounts
and gathers great lunches of wild
flowers
To all Americans there is something
so utterly ridiculous in the thought OF
grown people taking any. pleasure in rid
ing one of those tiny. little sl,ii.dle=lessee
donkeys that are given oyer entirely tt
the children in Central park.
!; But in England it is SO altogether diff
ferent. Every private stable shelters two
or more of these patient little beasts
and even the Queen doesn't consider il
beneath her dignity to mount one. There
is even in the peasant mind of England
such an Unborn reverence for royalt,
that it would never occur to the simple
hearted villagers that there was any
thing ridiculous in the sight of her sereht
majesty vending her way along the quie
little bypaths on the back of an humbl.
little donkey.
But to free thinking" Yankee mint
the sight of so much serene royalty be
ing borne along by anything as appar
emily insecure as donkey legs would prov.
too much for American risihlites. 4
siN-legged donkey. with two legs RICH
in the middle. would bring a great price
at the court.
There is something sn altogether pleas
ing in the picture Lady Churchill pre-
sents riding slowly along under the shade
trces-a sort of symphony in gray. Will
, her dull gray gown of mohair just eN
actly the color of the little donkey.
No wonder that she has chosen to try
8 her bicycle rides in this way. For il
the reports are true Lady Randolph
Churchill will feel like indulging in some
quiet little reveries before she takes sc
important Il step. \ demure little don
key will pick it's way cautiously among
stones and roots without the guiding
. hand of a rider, but a bicycle claims
constant thought: and it may be that
,.31 D,~.}ol,,b Cbnrrh;ll~, re will