Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-03-02

Special Correspondence of The Evening Star.
PARIS, February 10, 1901.
1 have just received a long letter from
Barbara, who seems to be enjoying thor
oughly her visit to Nice She says she is
having the time of her life. 1t appears
that the De Maufrigneuse family have ar
rived on the scene. They have obtained
possession of a charming little villa buried
among masses of heliotrope. l think l can
recognize the house from Barbara's de-
scriptiOn. 1t is about two miles out of Nice
proper. 1 remember Paul tried to rent it
two or three years ago, but decided the
price was exOrbitant. OF course. this only
goes to prove that Cecile Dubarrois is pay
ing the expenses. If it were not so Nine.
de Maufrgneuse, for all her aristocratic
blood. would have to be content to stay at
a hotel. They say that she-I mean little
Dubarrois-rides out every day in grand
style. Her victoria has been entirely re-
fitted. You know the seats and back were
covered with wine-colored cloth Now, if
you please, they are a delicate pearl gray.
Cecile wears gray and rose gowns which
harmonic beautifully with this setting,
and on the seat by her side rides that little
white toy dog of hers. He is also in har-
mOny with the picture, for he always wears
a big bow of the same color as his mis-
resS' gown.
Visitors abound at the Villa Maufrig-
neuse and there is a rumor that the duch-
ess Will entertain on a large scale She
gave a small dinner of twenty covers last
night, and Lilli and Barbara were of the
invited guests Barbara's letter is half
filled with descriptions of dresses. So L
can't do better than to copy few of them
for your benefit They really must have
been remarkably pretty.
Gown for "a Duchess
The duchess herself wore a directoire
Of baIi
front over a rich tunc of cream mousseine
de sole embroidered in pearls. Her album
dant snow white hair was massed in soft
coils and ornamented with jet and pearl
ornaments. Cecile was a picture In a
startling gown of embroidered black chif-
fon. This fell in soft folds about her
pretty figure, and it was kept in place by
the slendereSt straps of black jet. Start
ing from the left shoulder, crossing to the
waist line and from there down to the
bottom of the skirt was spray of flame
cOlored peoples and golden wheat. Bar
bara says the peoples We're very large and
so beautiful that they fairly cleaned from
their dark background. In her hair she
wore two of these blossoms one on the
temple and the other among the coils Of hair
at the base of her neck. The gown was
very decollete and showed to good adyan-
tage her plump white neck and shapely
shoulders. Around her throat she wore a
dog collar of jet, with big smoke pearl
pendant. Barbara says she never realized
before what a beautiful girl she was.
Speaking of black gowns, isn't it wonder
full how popular they have become for
young girls? | remember the time when
such a color would have been considered
extremely bad taste for an unmarried wo-
man. But. then, what difference is there
between the dress of matrons and debu-
tantes nowadays? White muslin. together
with simplicity and a few other things
seems 10 belong to the past. All the same
II / had daughter | would not allow her
To wear gowns which We're duplicates of
my own.
Must BE Learned.
This winter Partisan women seem to
have the mania for appearing learned. l
have had at least a dozen invitations to
Join different "cercles instruisantes" These
instructive "cercles' are reunions once
week at popular houses for the purpose of
listening TO dry discourses by learned per-
sons. Ihere. do You unlerstand2 As a ra-