Evening journal., 1897-02-11


Gle of police surveillance Never was Fifth
avenue so entirely in the hands of the an.
cient and aristocratc nobility of past ages.
Great social functions of the past in this
town were eclipsed, even that memorable
Vanderbilt ball of 1888, with which since
then all other affairs until last night have
seemed to suffer in comparison. For Law
ish expenditure, for artistic decorations
and surroundings, for a reflection of the
most picturesque episodes in old world his
tory and a gathering Of the fairest and the
richest in the new world life the ball last
night marked an epoch. 1t was more than
mile post in New York's social history
it was the event Of decade.
Invitations to the ball were issued to an
. indefinite number Of people Many came
from cities far distant, but there were
many abroad who could not come. Never
. theless the ball suffered nothing from lack
of numbers.
The times Of Louis XIV and Louis XVI
and the gayest regimes Of tho courts at
! Versailles were best represented The Louis
4 XIV epoch was in Mrs. Martins mind
when arranging the floral and tapestry
4 decorations. In no more appropriate way
could the lavish display Of pink roses and
garlands in loose profusion have been used.
The air was froightcd with the delicate
odors of the flowers and as the guests ar
rived low music drifted from the balconies.
+ 1t was sensuous The hearing the sight,
the smell, responded.
Victor Herbert and 80 men of the
Twenty second Regiment band were
perched in the west end of the balcony OF
the large ballroom. A Hungarian band of
%, in powdered wigs and quaint uni
forms, were in the east end. As each guest
was ushered into the room in which Mrs.
Martin received, a lackey announced his OF
her name and the character from the six
teenth, seventeenth or eighteenth centuries
which he or she represented. After pres
entation the guests mixed up and soon be-
came lost in the bewildering array of cos
TUNES.
Surpassed All Previous Events.
The Bradley Martin ball will go down
in history classed with the Schermerhorn
fancy dress ball of nearly half a century
ago, the Prince of Wales ball and the
Vanderbilt ball. But it eclipsed all OF
these. 1t was the crowning glory Of the
social life of New York of this century. 1t
may not be surpassed in another 100 years.
1t was gorgeous, superb and wonderful
spectacle 1t cost fortune, and at least
the workers who benefited by it will al
ways say that the money was we'll expend-
ed. The results of months of preparation
and the outlay of hundreds of thousands
of dollars were exhausted in five hours.
Men and women travelled across the con
tinent for the honor of being present For
one night the gorgeous and prosaic hotel
was transformed into beautiful Arun-
da palace, where tho inmates lived en-
chanted lives Tapped in soft music of adu-
lation, waited on by the splendors of the
world New York society was picked up
and deposited in Versailles amid tho glory
of the court of Louis Ky.
Shortly before 1 O'Clock it was an
nounced that Mrs. Bradley Martin was
ready to formally receive the guests She
stood in corner Of the assembly ROOM
which was magniicently decorated Will
tapestries and wreaths of American Beau
ty and La France roses.
Sore Notable Costumes.
The following were among the most not
able personeges present with especially
attractive costumes:
O. II. p. Belmont wore a costume of tn,
time Of Henri II of France combined witt
armor of that period, and Mrs. o. II. r
Belmont Merveillouse costume; Colo
mel Grant appeared in colonial costume
Miss Julia Grant was marquise of tn,
time of Louis XIV; Mrs. Frederick Dem
Grant impersonated a colonial dame OF the
time of Washington; Reginald Jaffray ap
peared as Cardinal Richelieu; william
Kent was costumed as Chancellor Kent
Mrs. John r. Drcxel was Princess d'
I.amballe, and MIR. Drexel accompanies
the princess as Duke de Sombroy, "A cour
tier of the Louis XIV period w. Harold
Brown wore a Louis XIV court dress mad
for the Schermerhorn ball of lS41; J. p
# Morgan, Jr, had Molieu costume; Brad
H ley Martin, .Jr., was a French page II
NJ white and blue satin; Mrs Lloyd Bryc
wore a beautiful Marie Stuart gown o
white, designed by Mr.. Porter, the artist
Miss Boylston wore an eighteenth centur.
u Spanish dress Of white satin, embroidere'
in gold; Mrs Frederick Bronson wore
N costume Of "A court lady Of the time o
Charles vi; Nine di Cesnola wore cour
dress of the time Of Queen Elizabeth, Miss
Gabrielle di Cesnola costume OF white
satin and gold of the Seventeenth century
and Miss Louise di Ccsnola as marquis
of the reign Of Louis XlNi Miss Clariss'
Coudert wore the costume of Japanes'
lady; Mrs. schuyler Van Rensselaer, Cru