davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-05-12

print is q curious attempt to turn time
backward in It's eight.
"The picture purports to show how q
well known business street looked In 1859
when II was the centre of the shopping
district. At this date women sported
~stupendous hoops but the ladies' in the
print are gowned like those OF the other
two, In the demure fashions Of 1880 or u
little earlier, while the men wear the very
long swallowtail coat OF that period.
"0f course this IL Of no real monent except
as an exposure Of some ones ignorance, but
II you were collecting historical prints you
would find that the study Of fashion plates
and a general knowledge Of costume was
wei worth having to make sure that your
treasures were dated correctly. Then, too
there is a bit of malicious fun TO be got from
your acquaintance with fashion plates.
Family albums still exist and you have
only to study the bygone photographs OF
the person who hates like poison to nave her
age known in order TO arrive at the fatal
number within two or three years.
These are generally unsupported uses
for the fashion plate. II has still other
merits In its own peculiar province which
are not usually appreciated in an ungrate-
full world.
1t has other functions besides its obvious
one OF teaching the newest fashion in drt %.
Permeaing this is the moro subtle but not
less important lesson on the latest fashion
in airs and graces.
The good fashion plate invariably gives
just the correct air, neither more nor less.
The poise Of the figure. the turn Of the head.
the ann Of sitting or walking, Of holding
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-05-12

delightful little works Of 6rt, BeautiturT
drawn and colored,
Indeed, there arc few modern fashion
plates which can approach in excellencs
the French plates of the nret quarter Of
the nineteent century. But would the
Anglo-Saxon adopt anything from Paris
without a ,hlngy Not If he could help II;
and here In a woman's magazine OF this
period we have plates side by side. one
showing the Paris fashion, the other the
fashion in London.
The London design IL fondly supposed
to be a modification, a tohing down. OF the
frivolities Of French dress more acceptable
to the modest good sense of English ladiea.
It was the same with our own Cooley OF
blessed memory. After procuring at inn
meii55 pains end expense, as he was careful
to-assure US. some beautiful French fashion
plates. he had them redrawn and carefully
modified or A~mericanized. rs he puts II,
which means that the waists we're enlarged,
the low bodices made higher and the gen.
eral air made more demure
There is still a curious display OF ma
tional sentiment TO be noted in fashion
plates. Though the latest, modes from
France may be followed in England, Ger.
many and the United States, there Is az
much difference In the general air OF their
respective fashion ladies os there is in the
racial characteristics Of their women.
The French fashion dame 10 always
suave and graceful. though mu1l oorseted,
the German rather square AID stih. the
English a willowy, billowy thing. the Amer
icanvshades of the depar.1d Cooley, what
stylel Here Is 20 be foun| q slight degree
of exaggeration, probable to be accounted
for by the national Lx~f-oonfidenoe and
nervous energy OF pose and action.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-05-12

fashions was OF very ancient origin, per-
haps as old as dolls themselves. In Eng
land these quaint fashion plates were called
little ladies or babies. mademoiselles or
moppets instead Of dolls until the middle
Of the eighteenth century.
Henri w. Of France writes to Marie de
Medicls in 1900; @Frontenao tells me that you
desire patterns Of ON fashions In dress.
] send you therefore, some model dolls. .
No. III Of the Spectator for january II, hi,
is devoted to q description Of a jointed
wooden baby which came regularly over
once a month habited after the manner
Of the most eminent toasts in Paris
This mademolselle was complete in every
particular Of her costume even TO the way
the carriers were tied and also as To the
ooiifuT5, tss complexion. and the very
newest place to put a patch. The coming
OF this dear moppet' had been somewhat
delayed at this time owing TO the war with
France. though no matter how tightly
closed English ports might be during war
times there was always q loophole left for
the fashion dolls TO creep In.
This privilege was taken away during
the Napoleonic wars, however. and then,
said Mrs. Bury PaIliser. English women.
deprived Of French aid for a whole genera
ton, began to dress badly. Pitt has much
to answer for
Mrs. Earle finds many illusions in old
letters TO fashion dolls and gives q chapter
10 them In her book on American costume,
for, Of course. they were Of the first i'm
portanoe to ladies on this side Of the water.
The poor souls seem TO have got them sec
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-05-12

up tho gown. Of dlsposing the hands are so
Important In creating q fashionable appear
ance that one Is tempted 10 think that style
radiates from the mien rather than the COS
tune.
The great portrait painters, who were
usually great fashion artists, illustrate this
point perfectly. They recorded the small
est detail Of the costume Of their day and
OF its company manners
The early portrait painters were taught
to disregard the body. Anatomy was
anathema. and they drew sttenusted. poor
creatures with woe begone faces, while
their skill was expended~on the most minute
representations Of the costume of the
period: Every little fancy in headdress
or embroidery, every fold Of drapery, was
painstakingly recorded, and the ladies were
all posed In what must have been the
fashionable attitude Of the time, a sort Of
reversed Greoian bend 90 peculiar that its
like has never been seen.
1t would have been impossible for Hol-
bein or a Of his school to be other thar
absolutely truthful. but the homely dignity
and power Of the faces in Holbein's plot
ures decidedly ovemhadow the costume.
These great ladies and gentlemen with
gravely folded hands appear as though
they had sat to the painter In their every
day clothes.
The portraits Of the next hundred years,
during which the Queen Of Three Thousand
Dresses ran her race, seem 10 be nothing
more than highly wrought fashion plates,
80 deeply buried wa the individual in the
monstrosities and excessive ornamentation
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-05-12

Of costume. Van Dyck. whose sitters
always came 70 him In gala array, was the
happy recorder Of costumes at once stately
and picturesque.
He tells US that there were restrictions
In the use Of jewels in his time for the long
taper fingers with which he delighted to
ondow his sitters are guiltless of rines.
From this time on IL was often the fashion
to dispense with formal costume.
The Lely school painted the languid
beautieS Of the Restoration In a more or
less indiscreet undress. but how fashion
able was its indisoretionl Only TO be
matched by the extreme modishneas Of
the wearer's languishing mien and elabor-
ately careless coiffure.
The eighteenth century was the golden
eye & portrait painting. y was at the
same time the 6 OF masquerades and
above all the age Of sentiment.
Ladies' were painted in formal costume.
the height Of the mode. and still were
prodigiously fashionable when they CHOSE
TO be painted In classical draperies, in
peasant dress or in charming print morn
ing gowns end in the act Of feeding the
chickens. But it must be remembered that
oopyists OF fashions that we're already
current and had first been spread broad
cast by some other agency.
Just what form the first fashion plates
took Is not recorded. but we do know that
as early as the fourteenth century France
sent puppets dressed in the newest modes
to other countries and it is likely that this
effective means Of disseminating the
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-05-12
HISTORY IN FASHION PLATES.
TIE MANNERS AS WE'LL AS THE
DRESS OF THE DAY SHORN.

AFsFe Meaning In Them Than One Might
6UppOse-Their History Several Cen
& tUFIea OId-FanOus Portrait Painters
VINO Virtually Made Fashion Plates.
'Know your fashion plateel It will
save you. from being cheated In moro ways
than one II you have an acquaintance with
fashion plates past and present.
SO said an authority, and TO point the
warning abe showed some recent reproduce
tons OF prints OF early New York.
"Here IL a print labelled such and such
a street about 1885" she said, THE about
is the only saving grace in this dating,
which is about forty years out Of the way,
as any student of fashion plates would
know. The people walking on the street,
the men In full bottomed trousers. the
lady and the little girl in leg-o'-mutton
sleeves and other u~nmlstakable signs,
mark the period as somewhere near 1880.
the mistake in dating another print
1900 should be plain 10 any one, as III pretty
we'll known that women at that time had
waists 90 short as to come just below the
armpits. while the lady walking by a famous
old New York building in the picture has
the long, slim, trinity belted waist. which
was not in vogue until at least twenty
five years later, The dating Of tho third
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-05-12
HOLLYHOCk'S NEW BEAUTY.
An Old Fashioned Fl0wer That Has Lately
Come Into New EnNnr.


A city man who saw in front OF q placo
where Towering plants were offered for
sale a placard reading ~"Houyhocks' was
a little surprised thereat. because he had
had anidea that the hollyhock was a homeIy
old fashioned flower peculiar to older
times and to the country and TO smaller
towns and villages. He remembered him.
self a TIME when in such localities pretty
nearly everybody had hollyhocks, per-
haps a row Of them along on either side
OF a garden path, or such rows bordering
the walk from the street to the front door
Of the house. He recalled how the bees
used to get into hollyhocks, and how he
used to close up a flower with'a bee in
it, break the fowe from the stalk and hold
IL up to hear the imprisoned bee buzz.
This a had always liked the tall
hollyhook with its big, bright flowers; but
he had supposed-this perhaps, because
he lives in the city-that the homely old
plant had sort Of passed out Of fashion
until he saw that placard reading Holly
hooks and then he learned that in recept
years there has been, in q way hollyhook
revival, and that nov h~ollyhocks are in de-
mand and increasing in favor.
There would still be found, IL was said,
in places such as those in which the inquirer
had once seen them, the old fashioned
~hollyhocks, planted and growing now a.
ever, though they might now in such places
not be seen 80 commonly, but. there were
now more varieties of h~ollyhocks, and tfeee
newer or comparatively newer varieties
ar e now to he seen In many places in the
suburbs, as they would also be found on
the largest n finest of country estates,
used In the places last mentioned as adorn-
ments OF perennial flower beds, or IL might
be as hedges.
The old fashioned single hoTIyhock may
still be bought. but the newer double holly
hooks are the kinds now most In demand,
and there is now what Is called an ever
towering hollyhock, this because il blooms
hook bloeeomed for q time only and then
ceased. While the old fa2hioped holly
hook had Its flowers simply scattered along
at intervals up its stalk, there are neweI
h~ollyhocks that have masses OF foyer
reaching TO the ground. -. 4.
Taking their kinds and eolors there ar.
now a SCORE or more of varieties Of nsv
hollyhock. Not all Of these are. d be relied
upon for color. the flowers u the ever
blooming ~hollyhook. for instance. which
Is a sort OF q double hollyhock now culei-
waited, may come in Of one tint Of color and
deepen to another; but there are holly
hooks that are true 10 color, and 20 it IA
possible 20 get h~ollyhocks in one or another
color as they may be deKred
People buy hollyhock seeds and Elaut
them to come 20 maturity and into blossom
the second year, and on large estates the
gardener may cultivate such ~hollyhockA
as are required; but those who don't want
TO wait for the seeds 10 grow buy hoIlyhock
plants, which will come into full growth
and flower In the season OF their planting.
Such plants are not expensive, thoss q
the finest varieties costing. say, 20 oaui
apiece, or s. a dozen.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-05-12

never exercised, alone at night and unable to
summon help. Well. being a woman. you
went there?"
1Yes, Adelbert asked me to 60 with him
before the rooms we're finally dismantled
by Miss Staples. Everything was just
as ] had seen 1t the week neiore uncle's
death; the tall cases filed with books, his
easy chair by the desk, with it's top Uttered
with all kind Of pamphlets opened and I'M
opened.
THE air was close and heavy. Adelbert
said he was sure no one had been there
since the funeral. The caretaker turned
over the keys that very night.
"Adelbert was sorting those old docu-
ments, carrying the worthless ones out
into the hall TO the bin. l watched my
chance; l did look in that little drawer.
There was a picture in 1t. a picture of Adel-
bert, one l know hat he gave to uncle;
and on the back OF it, in uncle's hand. was
scrawled the word 'Poisonerl' Oh. dear,
oh, dear. my poor hearth
you should have shown il to Adelbert,'
said the Judge after a moment.
Il was going to, but when he came back
he looked different. l was afraid"
THAT is not well, Mary. You would
tApcSt n hS Opthi0SlOC bhb'
And then the Judge went or 90 to oom-
fort and encourage with instances drawn
from his experience that Mary Cadell went
ava ashamed Of her u~nwomanly weakness
and resolved TO tell frankly the incident
TO her lover that IL might be forgiven and
forgotten, as such base things should be.
But the Judge did not find his assurances
rs convincing when he thought them over
alone. After uneasily pacing the floor to
and fro he summoned Cronlite and told
him the girls story and his advice.
so Morse carried out some Of the old
documents 10 the scrap boz was the de-
t~ective's comment. "Well. I'm not sur.
prised.'
That's where / beg to differ with you
retorted the Judge, with much dignity.
Il am much surprised at the frivolity which
concerns itself with the one irrelevant
feature OF what may we'll prove a serious
matter
1T was only that academic point Of mine
protruding again, Judge pleaded the
detective.
what do you mean-that 1T Is not
academic?'
'Those old documents. sir. may have
been the ones from which the excerpts
were taken for Mr., Merrilfs a~ddenda,H
very likely. from his slovenly habit OF
work. What Of iti"
Suppose those excerpts bore intrinsic
evidence Of having been printed at q date
subsequent to Mr., Merrill's death. what
then. sir?'
THAT would be an adverse fact sufi-
Client TO upset belief in the whole story;
but no, l glanced over those clippings. mont
Of them large. merely a paragraph or 20
out from the meat Of some document. mainly
official. ! hardly think matter 90 frag-
mentsry could contain anything conclusive.
The law. you know. ~disregards trifes.'
Not II they are a. strong as proofs Of
Holy Writ. SIR rejoined the detective as
he proceeded TO relate his discovery.
Judge Marcellus medltated deeply with
out q thought Of his own mental discom-
future.
There must have been some keen, active
intellect at work then. Abe at length he
said, seeking at first 10 benefit Morse and
now seeking 10 ruin him."
mot 20 keen and active a. your own.
sir agreed Oronkits. swhen you really do
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-05-12

But the child-you say she is In peril?s
@Ah, madam. IL you ara nothing to her
her safety or danger can be nothing to
you
Miss Staples walked toward the door;
she turned and resumed her seat, covering
her face with her hands, trembling vio-
lently..
Tell me what you think at length she
murmured.
Il came to know. madam. in the course
Of a legitimate investigation that from
her earliest days Mr.. Merrill was the secret
protector OF Lucille Devens. He paid for
her education; he set her up In business;
he CAV her work, always with the utmost
caution, as IL standing in fear Of his wife.
After his wife died he became holder,
though now standing in fear OF his niece
and nephew. He encouraged her to come
to his rooms, though in the guise Of a care
taker; he promised her that she should be
cared for. though in a roundabout way
"She knew his habits Of thought and work;
she could initiate his handwriting. When
he died, leaving his estate to you. a stranger,
she forged the assignment from him to
Morse. building up around II a clever
legend. Whyf Because she loved Morse
and expected to be his wife.
why. too. did you yield 80 readily to
what must nave seemed a palpable i'm.
posture to you? Because through your
espionage over the girl you believed that
abe and Morse would marry and thus
Mr.. Merrill's wishes would be carried out
more extensively and at less risk to your
self. You never dreamed that Morse had
been playing with her, that his affections,
passions, life itself. were centred on his
cousin Mary
THAT is a lies
Their engagement has been announced;
you may see 1t in this very newspaper
Again Miss Staples trampled; again she
poised enraged.
Merrill always was a contemplate
coward she stormed. u besought him
when he was free to Acknowledge LAcille as
his daughter. But no. always indirections,
always a paltering TO a~ppearancesl"
1T may have cost him his lfe,' said
Cronkite gravely: and he told OF the photo
graph Miss Cadell had found, and the
name written on lite back.
1T might be- Miss Staples whispered.
Merrill had no confidence in his nephew:
I used to think IL a part OF his silly fears.
All. i zee what you meant" she screamed.
You think he may now try to put that
poor, misguided, impul<ve. desperat. child
out Of his wayl Ipust go TO her at onoe-I,
her motherl Come, man, GOMEZ
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-05-12
THE ADVERSE FACT
IN THE AFFAIR.
One Word That Upset the Plans of
the Conspirators Who Sought
Martin MerrilTs Wealth.

1T is all a plausible theory, Judge. said
Abe Cronkite, when Mr.. Beavers had finished
his statement, but you must admit that one
adverse fact. IL clearly demonstrated. will
dispose of it,
from wounded pride.
II don't myself see where II can come in,
Abe" ~rejoined Judge Marcellus mildly.
balancing his glasses in true judicial fash
ion, Il think my young friend and partner,
Beavers. has made out a reasonable case.
Let me recapitulate:
Martin Merrill, the eminent sociologist.
died January /. 1908. apparently intestate
and without heirs OF his body to his very
respectable fortune. II was well under
stood. however, that he had been salts
fed that the law should divide his estate
hetween his niece, Mary Cadell, and his
nephew, Adelbert Morse. the only collateral
relatives. and such proceedings we're there
upon instituted.
'Whereupon Miss Abigail Staples, assist
ant principal Of the high school. offered
for probate a will bequeathing absolutely
the entire property to her. This will was
made three months prior to Mr.. Merrill's
sudden death. when he was physically
and mentally sound.
1T was drawn by a reputable attorney,
and witnessed by disinterested friends.
Moreover. Miss Staples. an accomplished
and beautiful woman, has the highest
standing in social, educational and church
circles. A long acquaintance had existed
between the two. intensified by Mr.. Merrill's
deep interest in the cause Of industrial de-
~.te-w.~,N L. 1,- ,aH.1I .,.oNoN.
For these reasons. though there was
some whispered criticism, no open oppo-
sition was made; and Miss Staples duly
entered into her bequest. Now comes
Lucille Devens, a stenographer and type
writer in this building. to Mr.. Beavers
with the following story:
"A week before his death Mr.. Merrill,
Tor whom she often worked, brought her
a large sealed envelope. containing, rs he
said, variou printed clippings. which he
wished her TO arrange in orderly fashion
and transcribe for Use as addenda 10 his
monograph on technical institutions. As
he had said he would not need the copy
'or a month, and she was at that time rushed
nth work, she put the sealed envelope
aside.
mir. Merrill's unexpected death. OCCUR
ring 90 soon, naturally disinclined her from
a task which might no longer be desired.
In her preocoupation the whole matter
vent out Of her mind until she came across
the large envelope covered with dust and
still unopened lying on the top shelf where
she had tossed II.
She now examined the manuscript, and
10 the midst OF a disorderly collection Of
printed eXcerptE from treatiees and 70
porte pasted on half sheets, found
This, interrupted Mr.. Beavers, excitedly,
producing a signed and sealed document,
nothing less than an assignment and trans-
fer made by Mr.. Merrill, a week before the
date Of his will, Of all his sharesi In the Argen-
tine Bank 70 bis beloved nephew, ASelbsrt
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-05-12
"

Yes; Mr.. Beavers's too susceptible heart
had responded TO what seemed the call Of
fate. Since the day when pretty and witty
Lucille Devens had come to his Office, telling
the strange story Of the lost transfer with a
magic that illuminated improbabilities into
truth. he had foated on air through a vista
Of delicious visions.
He haunted the girl, Watching her arrival
and departure, meeting her in the vestibule.
the elevator, the narrow corridor leading
TO her remote Office; though one not so
blinded by love could have readily seen
that such constant, unweloome attentions
were gradually producing that irritation
which may bring endurance abruptly to
IN end. No wonder Abe Cronklte had
felt, having dropped a hint az TO possible
danger, that he could oonfde her safety 10
his care.
II was, however, q dsjsctsd Mr.. Beaver
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-05-12

Morse. This she brought to me, as / had
been attorney OF record for Morse In the
proceedings before the Surrogate
The Argentine shares had constituted
the bulk Of Mr.. Merrill's estate suggested
the Judge.
Exactly; and the bequest to Miss Staples
was general, without specifying AMOUNT,
kind or value. Why, then, was / not justi-
fled In deeming this transfer valid2
'It would make the residuary bequest to
Miss Staples consisting mainly Of books and
manuscripts, a proper one. IL would pro-
vic for Miss Cadell, whose marriage with
Mr.. Morse, ] assume, is shortly to take
place. Therefore"
MY nice Mary" exclaimed the old Judge.
Il am wondrously fond Of that girl. Per-
hars that rredisroser 80 Cronkite; but
really I can't see why Beavers is not right in
thinking the transfer genuine and valid.
There is abundant proof that Mr.. Merrill
was both careless and absentminded.
Therefore"
Therefore, MIR. Beavers again inter
rupted al ms zeal, Il sent a statement OF
Unese Iacts TO Miss Staples, and suggested
that the matter should be settled amicably.
Here comes back my messenger. Let us
see whether Cronkite's adverse what-not
has also appealed TO her. q
The young lawyer flushed now from
triumph as he finished reading the letter.
Miss Staples agrees absolutely with
me, = he announced. 'She is ready to assign
over the Argentine shares TO Morse at once.
What do you say to that. Abe?"
Il say, sir" replied the detective. that
since my little point would now be purely
academic, I'll keep IL 10 myself
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-05-12
THE ETSH/oV- RIh2E GiTES zH6
coRREcTNNS AWO CRACES.

wretched woman took from her wretchSd
ohild's grasp.
Traces of this same poison were found
yesterday in Mr.. Merrill's body" he said
slowly. Il was wrong, yet l was right.
This poor creature may have been guilty,
yet who urged her on?"
And. unable TO bear the night Of those
who shrank from him. Adelbert Morse hur-
ried from the room.