The islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1891-1899, 1897-02-18
PICTURES OF THE PAST.


New York, Feb. 12.-Beautiful he.
yond description was the bal masoue of
Mrs. Bradley-Martin tonight. Col
umns have been written about the af-
fair and pictures drawn, but the fancy
OF the reporter and the artist did not
picture scenes one-half as lovely as
were presented at the Waldorf. For
weeks Mrs. Martin has worked in the
preparation of the sumptuous affair.
Her efforts were richly rewarded. The
bitter criticism hurled at her were for
gotten, and the hundreds who were
present We'd in making her the hap
piest woman in America.
The decorations throughout the Wal
dorf were exquisite. American beau
ties, lilies and the rarest of imported
blossoms, with vines and palms, were
lnter-twined in marvelously beauti-
full scene. Never in New York has a
greater floral display been made at a
ball. Tiny electric lights and mirrors
were used in bewildering and artistic
manner, all combining to transform
the already beautiful hotel to an en-
chanting Playhouse. The arrange
ments for the ball were tested to their
fullest, but, with excellent good for
tune, they were equal to every emer-
gency. Thousands of men and women
crowded the streets around the hotel,
but the police kept them moving, and
no conflicts or excitement of any kind
resulted. Detectives swarmed in and
around the house to prevent trouble,
but their presence was not needed.
The costumes were exquisite. All
the great men and women of the last
three centuries were represented Ar
rayed in raiment costly beyond the
dream of the originals were the men
and women who appeared tonight as
ladies and gentlemen of olden periods.
At midnight the great ball was at it's
height. All society was there gathered
to portray the regal splendor Of past
centuries: The great ballroom of the
Waldorf, beautiful with wealth Of
roses and fragrant flowers, was then a
scene of grandeur never before equaled
in this country. Courtiers of old, of
every cline, mingled with grand danes
and ladies, kings and queens, princes
and pfincesses, but here and there the
old spirit of loyalty had manifested it.
self in the presence of colonial men
and women of the old and quaint ways
in America.
Great social functions of the past in
this city were eclipsed, even the men,
orable Vanderbilt ball of 1888, with
which since then all other affairs have
seemed to suffer in comparison. For
lavish expenditure, for artistic decora-
lions and surroundings, for reflection
of the most picturesque episodes in Old
World history, and as a gathering of
the fairest and richest in the New
World life, the ball tonight marked an
epoch. It was more than a mile-pOst
in New York's history; it was the
event of decade. Months Of prepare
ton and the outlay of hundreds Of
thousands of dollars were exhausted in
five hours. It was very fashionable.
Men and women travelled across the
continent for the honor of being pres
ent.
AS many as fifty dinners preceded.
Every coterie that makes up swelldom
had dinner. Those who were going
to the ball appeared in their fancy
gowns, that cost thousands of dollars,
and which they will wear but once,
and in their jewels. After the dinner
their friends were invited to admire, in
order that the beauty and the gorgeous
ness of it all should not be lost in fu
ture generations.