The times., 1899-03-26
THE RICH EVICrED
BY THEIR SERVANTS
Turned Out Sunday Nights by
Tyrannical Cooks.
What 1t Costs Society Women to
Dress Well.
Society Now Enjoys Itself to tho
Strains of "a Fanfare Or
chestrn.

oSNdTu NSOO ana lueT tTltnQS pay As
! high as s75 to 800 month to their but
lers. very nearly as much to their cooks,
and yet, once. a week. whether they like
| it or not. these wealthy women are liter
ally turned out OF their houses to forage
for themselves. On Sunday evenings the
| ranges in the big kitchens are cold, the
| dining-rooms are silent, and the master
and mistress are Obliged to resort 10 res
taurants for their dinner, or go without
1t is an ill wind, of course. that doesn't
make somebody happy. and in the vast
gilt and crystal dining hall OF the new
Fifth Avenue restaurant of a Sunday ev-
ening everyone who is anyone in society
is present, and for the first time in Ameri-
can history the women are dining in public
in jewels and low-necked gowns.
Over by the corner. for instance Is a
| table sacred on Sundays to Mrs Astor and
her party; by the window William Wander
biit and his friends find food and shelter
from their cruel domestics. and the price
OF the dinner reaches a dizzy height. be-
cause every table has its exclusive dishes
and floral decorations and co-or Of candles.
One night Mrs. Astor's table is a bower OF
way Mrs. Clarence Mackay is dining in the
shade of Lawson pinks. While Mrs. Pier
pont Morgan's board is heaped with roses
that bear her own name.
From $3.50 until IL the process OF din
ing continues, accompanied by music and
In Lent the Sunday feasts have been hail
ed with unalloyed pleasure. For persons
who love good eating, the food at the va
rious tables is beyond compare. Every
dinner opens with an oyster cocktail, and
concludes with coffee. into which no Jumps
OF sugar are put, because special new per-
| ruined Partisan confection is served with
| the coffee, and nibbled between sips.
Though not an extravagant woman, I
confess no girl can expect to go through
a successful season on less than $1,000"
| quoth damsel with wrinkles of worry
| on her pretty forehead. Every year" she
| continued. the cost Of society campaign
| IN New York city grows more and more
| oppressive. Here is an itemized statement
| OF what girl can Just get through four
months OF hard work in society on:
Item No. l. Eight ball gowns will last
! from the list of November till the last OF
/ March. and they range in price never be-
low S125 to $3.50 apiece. Two tailor-made
| street suits at $50 to 800 each: one re-
| ception toilet. and this must be velvet and
fur, costs at the minimum $3.50 cannot be
| got for less or dispensed with OF cos
| TUNES to wear at home, five are necessary;
not less than $40 can be paid for auy one
| OF these. and at least one elaborate bril-
liant tea gown is requisite As high as
Sooo is paid for some of these, but our
! average girl can bring the price down to-
| Sl5O Hats to the number of five is a mod
crate estimate, and the simplest walking
toque cost SIS. while the velvet reception
affair with piumes comes to a round $40
1t IS almost impossible to particularize
over the item Of silk pettieoats STAYS
stockings. and handkerehiefs, but $500
draws conservative limit Three dozen
| pairs of gloves at the present price of s24
| a dozen puts one through with clean hands,
nothing more. The really rich women
wear six dozen pairs One riding habit,
ana you must own one. comes to $11o. A
| derby and top hat go with this, costing re-
| spectively, s. and IS. A skating dress and
golf dress add another s16O, and now il
you put all these figures together you will
have spent about $4,000, but the end is not
| yet
| "Out of her fund the girl must disgorge
| her cab hire, and she can hold her purse
| strings tight and yet not spend less than
$50 month-that's $40 alone. Again. she
must be ready to meet her subscription
dues to the dancing classes, her theatre,
| and sewing and musical societies, her skat-
ing and riding club dues and if she can
| get through on $500 she can count herself
ahead of the game.
This, then, leaves her a trifie over 5000
| out of which to buy shoes, underwear, and
her wraps, send flowers to sick or happy
| friends, make her purchases of Christmas
| gifts and wedding presents, and yet at the
end of the season she presents herself to
paterfamilias as empty handed as hollow
| OF purse, and as ragged of apparel as when
| she set gaily forth on her social conauests
the 1st of November. The question, can
assure you, that is now agitating the
minds OF anxious parents and the hearts
| of conscientious daughters is, Does New
York society pay?"
The musical programmes are to be the
| important features of all the spring we'd
| dings, not at the church alone, but at the
reception after the ceremony. Those peo-
| pie who will be so fortunate as to find
| their way to Mrs. William Sloan's house
the day OF her daughter Emily's marriage
| will hear the chanting of the newly gotten
| together wedding chorus. These are glee
singers, men and boys. who are secreted
somewhere in the house on the nuptial day.
| and sing lovely marriage choruses at in
| teryals until the bride departs. Thy sing
not only the well-worn Lohengrin chorus,
| but lovely old English, Scotch, Irish. Ger
man and Swedish bridal songs, without the
accompaniment OF any instrument. and the
effect is beautiful. as we'll as unique
l
| suffered a setback. They have to acknowI-
edged bitter rival in the popular Fanfare
orchestra, that was introduced by Mrs.
| Abraham Hewitt at the great reception
given in honor of Lord Charles Barasford
The Fanfare orchestra is confined to
wood and wind instruments alone and it,
| in turn, has a rival in Mrs. Frederick Van-
derbilt's protege, the Russian Cossack
| band.
Another quaint feature at the Lenten en-
| terprises was a group OF Arabs who. as
well as Jean de Reszke and Nine. Sem
| brich. have learned that there is way to
| New Workers pockets through the New
| Workers ears. There were only three of
| the dark-skinned, white-robed sons of the
prophet. and they were really travelling in
| the suite of an Englishnan on his way
around the world from the Soudan to Lon
| don. His Egyptians had actually fought
the kalifa. and they played on little drums
and footed on little pipes, sitting fiat on
the floor, and they entertained guests not
| only for Mrs. Belmont and Mrs. Fish but
for half a score Of other celebrities, and
went away with the mysterious pockets in
| their robes and turbans very much heavier
than when they set out to explore the coun-
| try of the unbelievers.
| The person. of late who has made fame
| and money by catering 10 the half-ac-
knowledged superstitions of our bluest New
York blood is a simple clairyoyant. The
woman recalls the past and foretetls the
future by dropping into a waking dream,
and her name is Nine. Dora Hahn. Now,
Nine. Hahn might have put out her busi-
ness card till 1t grew weatherbeaten, and
read the future till her powers were worn
out and society would never have gone
near her, had not somebody unfolded the
fact that Jay Gould not only consulted her
as to his vast speculations, but followed