The age-herald., 1897-08-17

Reports from London tell of the fancy of the good English queen for that charming American woman, Mrs. Josefh Chamberlain, whose husband is one of Vietorias cabinet ministers. Ms. Chamberlain was. previous to her mar riage to the Englishman. Miss Endico,t, of Salem, Mass, daughter of President Cleve.ands first secretary of war, ana during her fathsr's residence in Wa hing ton she was one of the prominent and at tractive women in the social life of the national capital When she went 10 England as a young bride, she carried with her the peculiarly gracious manner, and the delicate consideration of other peoples comfort that made her bele in her own country. She is eminently fitted to be the wife of politician and states man. She is so thoroughly courteous, and evidently so fond of humanity, that it is never an effort to discharge the du- ties and obligations that are imperative upon the wife of a man in public life. She recognizes the undeniable fact that there is a social side to politics side that only tactful woman can manage, and she has accomplished as much for her husbands advancement in her adopt ed country, as she did for her fathers, in her American home. Mrs. Chamberlan n has discovered that upon the wife de- wolves much of the making of her hus- bands political career, and having mar ried man with aspirat tions for a public life. she has wiseiy determinsd to fully perform her duty in the premises. She has made many friends and admirers in Great Britain, and chief among them is Queen Victoria, who frequently "com- mands" her to dine and sleep at Windsor and 0sborn:. During June and July Mrs Chamberlain was especially conspicuous and in closer contact with the queen than usual As wife of the colonial secretary, she was compelled to present to Victoria the wives of the colonial statesmen on all occasions when subjects were received.
 The queen was charmed with Mrs. Chamberlain's tact and self-possession, and did not hesitate to express her ad- miration of the fascinating American wo man. It is stated that no other woman from this side of the Atlantic has ever been quite so much complmented by tte queen, who has presented to Mrs. Cham pertain very recently the golden jubilee medal Very few who Ire rot membei s of royal families have been honorei with this evidence of the queens approval. the golden medal being usually reserved for royal and reigning families. Embas- sadors and other celebrities are given the silver medal. Mrs. Chamberlain VIII wear this golden medal on all state oc- casions, attached to the left shoulder of her dress, with a blue and write ribbon. She has succeeded in overcoming much of the prejudice felt by the queen for Ameri- can women, a prejudice which came
 Tn f,f Q brusoue, curt manners of some Ameri- cans, who have travelled in England, and had the good fortune to be presented at the court of St. Jamss.
 The Age-Herald is indebted to Mrs. Oscar w. Underwood for the fol- lowing delightful paper upon miniature painting and kindred art
 Miniatures ar d Miniature Artists
 There is an old-time fashion in por- traiture returning to us with renewed force of late. refer to miniature paint. ing. Of ali the different lines of art, it is to me, one of the most attractive. Each miniature, even those of modern times, seems to breathe a story of long ago. of the days when fair women's faces were framed in soft masses of powdered hair, the bare necks and arms gleaming from pillows of rare old lace, and when the becoming stock of null and lace was worn by men, this branch of art cannot be .nodernzed, and we are glad that 1t is so. The dress of the day is there, but unobtrusively so, it's modernness being softened and made unnoticeable. The styles of painting is just the same. Do you appreciate what an amount of work is put upon that tiny miniature you hold in your hand? Take the magnifying glass and examine it closely. Now you can detect the fine lines indicating the direction taken by the brush in moulding the softly rounded cheek--even the lines under the eyes, and the tiny little wrin- kles can be discerned. The method is painstaking and tedious, but the result is full of grace and daintinass. It is very trying for the artists eyes, each tiny DOT trait being the result of many weeks application, sometimes months. The like ness may be very eiusive--sometimes it Is caught and lost again in the fire de- tail work necessary. It takes an excel lent portrait artist to note the character sstics of a face transfer them to the ivory, and then keep them there.
 T have worked on this miniature so 1ong. that. do you know, I believe have worked away the likeness" said an ar list of this city to me not long ago. It was a beautifully painted face of a young girl and had been a particularly difficult piece of work for. the model being ab- sent, the artist was finishing her likeness from memory. But after putting it aside to rest her eyes by other work. the ike ness was probably caught again.
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 Birmingham has reason to be proud of her talented artist, Caroline S. Lowell. who is kept busy by the many orders of miniatures from patrons both here and ejbroad. We hear that she has been hard at work all summer over the order given her while in England last year. Mrs. Loved Is gifted in many different direc- tions. but artists have their specialt.es, and think her true talent lies in por- tralture. her water colors of children's faces, and dainty miniature work being