The Lafayette advertiser. [volume] (Vermilionville [i.e. Lafayette], La.) 1865-19??, 1905-03-22
the SMART SET
How the idle Rich Disport Them
selves in q Search for Some
thing New.
Nothing too Silly or Bizarre to Fur
mish Amusement. A Few In.
stances of Their Taste and
Originality.

New York's ''smart set is nov
called the ''silly Set" 1t is composed
mainly of men and women who have
nothing to do but spend large incomes
from the investments that we're made
by there dead fathers and mothers.
Few of the silly set take any interes,
in business except to draw their divi.
dends punctually and spend them i'm.
medistely.
To this fast crowd, the ordinary
amusements n tame. These people
must have something new, something
that the common people have not
dreamed 0f-thank heaven! So they
try to do everything in a different
way. They turn night into day, and
do not hesitate at the most foolish
deeds. Even Viewpoints $780," whose
leaders are Mrs. Fish, Mrs. Belmont,
Mrs. Vanderbilt and q few others,
have never produced q more
"freakish" summer season of frivol-
ity than that which has just passed.
Milli0naires and millionairesses chose
the company of trained donkeys, mon
keys and goats to that of men of
science. letters and art, and this
'cream of American society," made
coon-shouters, cake-walkers and
clowns of themselves for the delec-
tsti0n of one another.
Nothing has been too grotesque, too
silly. or too bizarre to furnish New
ports ''smart set" with amusement,
and it is predicted that the interna-
ti0nsl spectacle they have been maxi
ing of themselves will be as the dim
light of q candle beside an arc light
when compared with the things due to
ccu this winter. Full grown men
have played the parts of babies, and
have dressed with the women of their
Get in swaddling clothes. They have
crept and hoped about on all fours,
while beautiful women, with wine
glasses in their hands, have looked
on and laughed. And these women
have decked monkeys and donkeys
with jewels and rare laces, have
blackened themselves, and performed
gr0tesque antics before these ssme
men to repay them for their own eff
forts to amuse.
During the whole season the leaders
IT Newport society have been racking
their brains in order to make hits -
and the supreme ''hit'' of the season,
according to the members Of the ss4OO''
VA that Of Mrs. Stuyvesant Fish.
For weeks it was known that she was
planning something extraordinary,
but what met the eye Of the Fish
guests when they arrived one night to
dinner was enough to take away the
breath Of the person not accustomed
to such rare inventions Of the intellect.
Instead Of being greeted by some
great guest Of honor, the 1901 found
an animal hippodrome encamped in
the house. There we're trained mon
keys, donkeys, ponies, cats, dogs,
rabbits, rats and mice. Some of
Mrs. Fish's guests had been lad
vised' before the night Of the dinner,
for Mrs. Belmont very naturally hit
upon the idea Of asking the trained
donkey his mistress age, and the ami
NAL paved just Is times, which made
Mrs. Fish blush very becomingly. In
stead Of bringing the dinner on, the
attendants loaded the dishes on 81
pOny's back, and this pony was led
into the dinning room, where the
guests helped to ssset'' the table. !
Amer each course was oyer the pony
carried away the dishes.
At this dinner , monkey had the
0eat Of honor At the table. With .
bib tied shout his neck, he sat up
straight and ale the strange dishes
WITH TIE air Of IN epicure. He vas
mot only dined, but wined until he
over and had to be taken
away from the Fish mansioo in :
serriage. Meanwhile the other ami
nals were given the whole range Of
~ house. Cats ate from the plates
q society women, dogs hung around
about The table, and the rats and
ne caused many . pretty foot to be
80, Is their owners gathered
Iksir dresses tightly about them and