The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-04-04
MISS WIDDICOMB IN PARIS.
An American Girls Clever Scheme
For Supplying Home Comforts
For Her Countrywomen When
They Travel in Foreign Lands.

l.
To talk with the exquisite little
blonde creature who is the head an6
front of this clever undertaking, one
realizes that America is the only
country under the sun that could have
produced this unique combination OF
youthful beauty, distinction and grace
! with a perfectly trained, well-poiseC
business capacity.
Miss Mary Widdicomb is the daugh-
ter of one of the leading Grand RAJ
| ids manufacturers, and when, a few
years ago, the panic very seriously
affected her fathers interests, she
then barely turned 20-out of pure
daughterly devotion, insisted upon aid
ing him in his business and began GO
ing regularly TO his office Here she
soon developed a business faculty that
is exceedingly rare in men, and almost
! before she knew it was spending IA
hours a day at the office, and plan
ming the work for 900 men. She was so
successful in all that she undertook
that she won the admiration and re-
| spect OF every business man in the
city. including capitalists and bank
presidents. Last year. however, the
| financial pressure forced her father into
making a change in his business rela-
tons, which left Miss Widdicomb free
| to embark on her own independent
ventures, and she thought out the
| Paris scheme.
MISS WIDDICOMB'S SCHEME.
Being from experience entirely famil-
lar with the unpleasant features of the
pension system, and the impossibility
| for Americans to secure anywhere in
Europe, and especially in Paris, the
/ atmosphere to which they are accus-
| toned, she determined to create a sort
of ideal home for a dozen or Is young
women compatriots, whose pleasure or
studies bring them from time to time
to that gay and artistic center.
The American girls boudoir, for in
stance, with its wealth of dainty ao-
pointments, is thing simply unknown
in a Partisan household, while the sa-
Ions, however elegant, are totally lack
ing in that air of easy home comfort
and indefinable sense of luxury that
distinguishes even the most simple
and inexpensive American drawing
room.
The purpose, therefore, of this new
enterprise is TO be found in the most
desirable quarters of Paris-not a men
age-but a home that shall combine
the best that America has to offer in
the way of creature comforts with
the very best that Paris can give on
the artistic and picturesque side.
AMERICA IN PARIS.
They have planned that all their
bedrooms shall follow a more or less
white and gold scheme; that is to say.
they have sent over several sets of this
pretty furniture, including single beds,
toilet tables, dresSers, cheval mirrors,
taborets and-what will be most ap-
rreciated-comfortab little rockers.
Then they have made no end of pretty
white dotted muslin curtains, dainty
It'll
Giles for the various articles so indiS
pensable to lady's toilet, blotters and
portfolios for the writing tables, laun-
dry and shoe bags, and thousand and
one other charming accessories. For
the beds they made fresh white muslin
spreads finished all around with deep
ruff1e, to be used over different colored
silesia or silkoline, according as the
subordinate decorations are heliotrope,
yellow or green. Besides these they
have also made a quantity Of light.
fluffy silkoline comfortables.
The salon is to be more or less
French in tone, but opening upon it is
to be the most delightful American tea
room in forest green; and since it is
impossible to get this charming dark
green furniture over there, full equip
ment was sent from here; settee,
bizarre-shaped chairs, including, of
tables, pretty little, taborets for palms,
etc. A picturesque canopy over the
sofa and other hangings re-also to be
in various shades of forest green. The
wall paper is to represent woodland
scenes, while the pictures are all to
give an outdoor effect.
All the furniture has been manufac-
tured under Miss Widdicomb's direct
supervision, and so much confidence
had che IN Snirod in bar koap b1rSinacc
ability that it was a comparatively
easy matter to secure sufficient capital
to comfortably swing her project.
THE LADIES IN. CHARGE.
Miss Widdicomb, not yet %, assumes
the entire financial responsibility, and
manages the business end of the
scheme down to its smallest detail.
With her goes Mrs. Thayer, an ex-
ceedingly charming woman, whose
province it is to look after the social
and artistic interests and to act as
chaperone of the young ladies. Mrs.
Thayer was the former musical di-
rector of the Michigan seminary at
Kalamazoo, has studied music and
literature in Paris, and has distin-
guished social connections there.
Miss Widdicomb also takes with her
younger sister. who will continue her
studies, and best of all, her mother,
who will see the scheme safely
launched, overlook the domestic ar
engagements and add the dignity of her
presence to the whole.
The young womln are already fine
linguistS, so that those wishing to
speak French will have abundant op-
portunity.
Though employing a French chef,
our fair friends go armed with all the
necessary requirements for providing
modicum of American dishes. They
man who will meet people arriving on
the trains and who will otherwise act
as escort when necessary.
Their purpose is further to make a
very especial point of the social ele-
ment of the home, entertaining in a
quiet way frequently at dinner, and
devoting the evenings almost exclus-
lively to social life or what Paris has
to offer in the way of entertainments.
They already have very fine social con-
nections there but carry in addition
letters of Introduction to many of the
most distinguished men and women
Cloth American and French) in Paris.
Although this all sounds most fairy
like in its attractiyeness, there is really
nothing in it to entail unusual ex-
pense, and the plan is to adopt the
same rates that obtain with the regu-
lar first-class French pensions, i. e..
from to 10 and II francs a day The
young ladies have issued no circulars
and are not advertising in any way,
preferring to depend entirely upon their
social connections in this country (per-
haps especially their relations with
Wellesley, Smith and Vassar) and
- g. - Ii