The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1903-03-31
A NEGRESS IN SOCIETY"
One of the New York Does the
Cake Walk With a COIOred Sou
brette at DeImonicO's.

Drette al Dc1mOn1COS
Gleefully ignoring the color line"
Robert Hargous waltzed with Mrs. Ada
Overton Walker, a d~ark-skinned bru-
nette. at his dinner in honor Of Mrs.
Arthur Paget. in Delmonico's, a few
nights ago.. A crowd of fashionable
folk viewed the unusual dance.
To be sure, Mrs. Walker was there
as a hired entertainer, but she acquit-
ted herself as a good fellow so COM
mendably that Hargous ordered the or
chestra to play a waltz. He bowed gal
lantly to the dusky matron, and with
her woolly pate cushioned on his shirt
front they danced. This recognition of
the equality of the races vas made in
the presence of Mr.. and Mrs. George B..
de Forest, Mrs. Frederick Nelson, Mr..
and Mrs. Jules S. Bache, Mr.. Arthur
Paget, Mr.. and Mrs. William Jay, Mr..
and Mrs. T. J. Oakley Rhinelander,
Elisha Dyer, Jr., Mrs. George Law, Jas.
V. Parke. Charles NJ. Robinson and
Stuyvesant LIE Roy.
Nor was the host the only one to
NNo NNAASSi. IVA GIL nv SA~.
Walker enjoyed the attention of all the
guests, and before she babe farewell
to the chivalrous Hargous they danced
a cake-walk, that is, Mrs. Walker
danced and Hargous manipulated the
cane n handkerchief.
The dusky dancer followed up her
triumph by appearing in Mrs. Paget's
apartment in the Waldorf on the next
oftarnnnr a-I rrLo- NTrc Tnor~n ry
gave a dinner on the following night,
Mrs. Walker was again the bright par
ticular star.
Now hat all society is aghast at the
recklessness of e%levating a colored
actress to it's Owl high level, public de-
malls are forthcoming, but Harry Sea-
mon, of Turtig & Seamon, who escort
ed Mrs. Walker to Delmonico's, affirms
that she danced with Hargous. She
now has a record tina P~aderewski,
Ethel Barrymore. Katie Barry OF other
professional %favorites Of society never
ave equaled.
She will follow up her social conquest.
She will go abroad soon-after she has
finished teaching the fashionable wo-
men under Mrs. Paget's auspices how
to dance the cake-walk, the serpentine
n buck-and-Wing. On next Monday
afternoon h will hav her first class
in the Waldorf. To belong to this class
is a distinction barely o~vershadowed by
being on Mrs. Astor's invitation list.
Although Mrs. Walker made her de-
but in society only five nights ago, she
has acquired some high-bred manner
isms. Her as have broadened. Her
conversation is ~punctuated by Really,
now" Don't you know and ooh fan
cyl" In her dressing room in a Broad
way theatre last night she was prepar-
ing for her soubrette role. Elise, a
slightly duskier maid, was piling high
the midnight kinks" of the young wo-
man. Mrs. Walker was arrayed in a
white silk e~iderdown robe.
Really, now, his is astonishing"
said she ''Why should all this fuss be
made? I was MI. Hargous' partner for
a waltz, n we cake-walked together.
1t was all very proper and rather good
sport, and I found the dinner
charming, o know. My husband was
not with me. That is not fashionable,
you know. Mr.. Seamon was my escort.
When I came in they were playing
bridge. Then 1 sang a bit and danced a
bit, and there you are. I was there for
an hour or more. No, indeed. I was
not entertaining all the while. What
was I doing? Oh, chatting-small talk.
you know.
do you know all this notoriety Is
most annoying to me? My rouge now.
Elise. What gown did I wear that
night? Aren't you rather inquisitive?
What frock was it, Elise? Oh, yes; it
was Irish point lace, relieved with blue
chiffon-a rather simple affair, but ap-
propriate. Mrs. Paget is extremely con-
siderate, you know. She was awfully
good about offering me her automobile.
But, you see, l always use my little
brougham. We are creatures of habit,
aren't we? I hall spend my summer
abroad. Now, please don't quote me,
because it is not pleasant to be in the
newspapers"
1T is Misrepresentation to say there
was any familiarity with the girl who
sang" said Mrs. Arthur Paget. II saw
no one dance with her, and all this gos-
sip is most ridiculous"
Il know nothing of Mrs. Walker or
the occurrence in Delmonico's." said
Robert Hargous. Besides, it is a sub
ject I prefer not to discuss"
"The colored woman was at my house
as a hired entertainer, and no more"
said Mrs. George Law. "Of course, she
was treated with politeness by every
one. How else should a servant be
treated by men and women of breed
ing? This girl danced and sang anus
ingly, and that is all there is to it.
Naturally we resent the avalanche Of
gossip her managers are rousing."
Il call his unmitigated impudence,"
said one of the guests. 1T will teach
us to select Jul entertainers with care.
[ know the girl is not responsible for
the hurrah.' 1t was her manage who
brought her to the dinner and who will
reap the benefits of this nauseating no
toriety.-It woul be an injustice to
our host to say whether he waltzed
with the young woman. Some persons
left the dinner, you know, before Mrs
Walker did."-New York Press.