The Washington herald., 1906-11-26

his last novel upon a foundation Of but
ter. sugar, and eggs" that he was going
10 set people all over the North. as well
the South. eating a gigantic layer erec-
tiOn Of richness? Did be entertain de-
signs against the digestion OF boarding
school girls and lovers Of sweets in gen.
eral, in creating "a demand for the only
real confectionery sly-seraper. oven
Drowned and sugar-fr0sted?
Not one Of Mr. WistePs readers ever
walked into his CharIeston's 'Woman's
Exchange" and saw the pretty girl back
/ Of the counter cutting pieces Of Lady
Baltimore cake, without holding an I'm
mediate Interview with her and her cook
book. Ninety-nine times out OF a hun
/ dred. the interview was unproductive Of
results. Lady Baltimore" remained a
name. mystery, something one re-
membered to have heard ones Southern
grandmother talk about. but a feature
Of existence departed with other ancient
! glOries below Mason and Dixon's line.
When the demand for a thing is sufi-
cientiy great. IL usually materializes
/ Just so with Lady Baltimore" Sheer
rather it-has arrived In Washington
/ II II AliE AtSllULDllilL vogue. II IS IN Oe-
mand everywhere; il has met with such
! universal approval that II digestive dis
orders fail % break out In Washington
society this winter. cooks win not be to
blame
Il is a pity that in rhapsodizing over
anything as daintIy delicious as Lady
I Baltimore the feminine gender may not
be employed. II is sweet. expensive. mys-
terious ln composition, and frivolous
Should il not. In reason. be treated femi-
ninely2 Also. il is utterly impossible to
do full justice 20 its charm In words.
To get at the actual weighed-and- meas
ured recipe for LADY Baltimore" IS as
hopeless as 70 fathom the secret OF a
woman's beauty. There are several places
in town where Lady Baltimore" Is pro-
duced az hazard There is exactly one
place where the secret Of its compost
tion is understood, and this is the place
where the door of enlightenment is po-
Iitely closed IA the face Of inquiry Lady
Baltimore is purchasabIe. but gossip or
rumors about Lady Baltimore" cannot
be bought for love or money. For this
reason Lady Baltimore" has retained
her reputation for exclusiveness, and
nothing has been written about her since
she made her resurrected debut between
the covers Of Mr.. Wister's book
The feminine pronoun has crept in de-
spite good intentions and proof-reading!
Without attempting TO get at the mys-
terry Of its creation. a word with regard
10 Lady Baltimore" is timely. In the
first place. IL is a gigantic layer cake. the
filing and frosting Of which is twice as
thick as the cake-layers and so packed
and stuffed and crammed with all kinds
OF chopped nuts. raisins. Candied fruits.
citrOn, dates, and what-not as TO cause
the iceing TO be more Of a gorgeous tutti-
frutu than any other comparable thing.
BY some curious process this filling is
tinted a delicate pink, and the cake would
not be Lady Baltimore" without a COM
bination tlavoring of rose and almond.
II is an insidious cake. Nothing else in
the cake line tastes like it.
In its present vogue. society recalled
that Lady BaltimOre's" sister. or first
consin, is known to the wife of the pres
ent governor of Virginia; that she. or II.
used 10 be a feature OF Mrs. Swanson s
Tuesdays during the official season. Mrs.
SWansOnS famous cake was Just az am
bilious. just as decorative. just as remark
able in its ability TO retain the perpen-
solids as the Lady Baltimore" of pres
ent fashion. The only distinguishing de-
tail was that Mrs Swanson's cake was
not pinked. though 1t had all the other
garnishes and accessories.
II Mr. owen Wister ever comes 10
Washington. society is likely to treat
him to liberal slices OF charming, costly
Lady Baltimore.
Hearts seldom bleed over a bride and
groom; yet many did so in the anguish
of pure sympathy Saturday afternoon.
Just as the matinee throng poured out
from the Belasco Theater, a carriage
rolled down Vermont avenue, passed
Lafayette Park, and made the Avenue
turn into Fifteenth street.
The carriage was the outward and visi-
bic sign Of an inward invisible bride
and groom. who in the agonizing con-
sciousness of furnishing a spectacle for
the populace crowded into the separate
corners Of the back seat in utter misery
and wrath, the first emotion being char
acteristic Of the bride and the second
OF the groom.
Whoever perpetrated the outrage upon
the carriage in which the newly married
couple drove deserved q liberal dose of
opinion, or something more emphatic.
The four wheels Of the vehicle we're
wound with white ribbon, and each spoke
was twisted with white flower garlands.
Over the two rear wheels bows Of exag-
gerated size, stiffened and wired TO ex-
tend Ike wings Of Cupid, spread their
awful benediction to the breeze. 1t was
not only spectacular and grotesque. but
it was grossly inhuman-enough to dis
he,
hold of matrimOny