The Saint Paul globe., 1905-01-11
GOSSIP FROM GOTHAM

Charming Mrs. Joe Widener almost
caused the collapse of two portly mem
bers Of the Miilionaires' club in the
avenue. yesterday simply because, true
to tradition, she kept well abreast of
the style and was unconscious of the
effect she produced until the men were
almost over the danger line. She car
ried big monkey muf with a head of
that animal at either end. 1t was the
only conspicuous part of her attire, SO
when the club members stared as they
passed her it needed no sage to tell
what caught their rowing vision The
mun 1t was. First one, then the other
club man saw it, and in an instant
nudges were exchanged. And simply
because there were two monkey heads
at one end and one at the other! But
soft! AS they gaZed a look of horror
oVerspread each manly countenance,
Tor, wonder of wonders-the extra
head shifted suddenly to the opposite
end of the muff! .sGreat 'Jupiter-look
ing. My word!" was the evident re-
ply. Again they stared. Neither rub
bed his eyes. Men who marvel do that
only in books. But each focused his
glance on the hairy handwarmer and
paled. by Jove" said one of them
loudly, in a forgetful moment. His
companion shuddered. Another shift
mad occurred-the extra head was in it's
FORMER place again. The two hailed n
hanson, tunbled into it, fairly Shrek
ed Sherry's!" and bowled away in hot
haste, presumably for "a hair of the
dog. Mrs. Widener, still innocent Of
the situation, shook a reproving finger
at the extra head and said, .sNow, Fiji.
be quiet" whereupon cunning little
marmoset blinked brightly at her and
disappeared in the gloom of the muff.
No woman in America has a finer
collection of black diamonds that Mrs.
Alfred Chaplin. Her fondness for the
stones is known to all her relatives.
and on festive occasions they take care
to give her trinkets in which those
gems figure prominently. Almost all
the matron's sable jewels came from
the province of Bahia, in Brazil, and
more than half of them are of excep-
tional excellence. They do not sparkle
like white diamonds nor, though
opaque, are they as glossy as LET. hut
they have beauty of their own and
their rarity gives them additional
charm in the sight of the enthusiast.
Black diamonds are found chiefly in
the bed of the San Jose river. 1t was
there the first of them was discovered.
in 1S5S-a stone of 10000 carats, which
today would be worth $4,000, but
which was thrown back into the water
because the finders, who were dig
ging for white diamonds, had no idea
of its value. The diggers are Garin-
peros, whose methods of mining are so
crude they still grope with their
hands for the gems, which any civilized
people would seek with the most ap-
proved mechanical devices
Mrs. Astor has brooch in the shane
of a bicycle-Mrs. Jack" Astor. that is
to say, for, of course, her rf1amma-in-
law would not wear anything so frivo-
leus. Each wheel is a diamond. with
lines engraved to represent the spokes
and a small hole fer the axle The
saddle is ruby, also engraved to
carry out the idea, and the handlebar
is carved from single topaz. Mrs.
Astor wore the trinket the last time
she appeared in the Metropolitan, and
it evoked much admiring comment. A
pretty diamond butterfly is possessed
by Mrs. Burke Roche, the wings being
carved so accurately that one half
expects to see them f1utter, as did the
spun-glass ornaments IF a generation
or two ago. Miss Cynthia Roche has
q tennis racket made of two diamonds
one for the body, the other for the
handle. The strings look as if thew
could be drawn out and wound about a
needle, for they are finer than the
finest gossamer. having been engraved
under a powerful glass.