The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1909-07-21

Take 1.-THE Breakers the residence of Mrs Cor
nelius Vanderbilt, for example. Here, indeed, is
palace fit for queen.
There fifty servants in the great house. and
the monthly bills for provisions and groceries are
enormous A great part of the household supplies
come from the family's own farm in the country
including milk from Jersey of registered
lineage, and eggs laid by pedigreed hens. The
cooking plant of the Vanderbilt place is similar to
that OF a hotel, and attached to it is refrgerat-
ing lined with compartments chilled with
ice from above There is "cod room for the
manufacture of ices and pastry, and spacious
wine closet connects by an elevator with the wine
cellar
The kitchen is walled with white porcelain tiles
and lighted by electricity. The range is thirty
feet long, and miniature railroad carries the coal
ashes out OF the house. The chef, Frenchman
with salary of $4,000 year, is absolute auto
crat of the culinary department. and has under
him skilled pastry cook and number OF women
assistants
OF all the people employed for the serving of
big dinner perhaps the head buffers duty is the
most exactng. There is servant for every three
guests, and another in the pantry runs in the
courses. The butler communicates with the chef
by electric signal, and there is not instants
delay, each successive course appearing and
fishing with the utmost celebrity. Not than
eighty-fve minutes elapse from the seating of the
guests until the ladies leave for dinners much
shorter now than they used to be, and the number
OF courses is limited. An ordinary dinner, exclud-
ing wines, costs about SIS head and at that fig
ure, Mrs. Vanderbilt can provide repast that
would have made Lucullus and his fastidous table
crones delirious with joy.
Freak dinner fads.
r UT the fads of multi millionaires of certain
- class have brought to pass the Observation-Disclosures.
plate dinner-a function which depends more for
its success upon artists and mechanical geniuses
than upon the marvellous creations of Monsieur
Francois. Even nightingaes tongues washed down
with the rarest and costest wines would not total
up such fabulous amount as a hundred dollars
for each guest.
At millionaire residence not long ago there
was given dinner in which the guests were seat
ed in corner Of Venice. The doors along the
corridor at the side of the great dining room
We're removed, and in their places balustrades
set to give the appearance of Venetian bal
comics. Beyond stretched transparency $50 feet
long and twenty feet high, showing most realisti.
cally street in the city of canals. Between this
and the dining room was waterway which
was gondola with party of troubadours who
played and sang as they passed to and fro. At
one end of the room in which the tables
placed beautiful garden of growing palms and
flowers had been laid out, with fountain in the
center, which tossed its light spray almost to the
ceiling. Thousands of tinted electric lights shed
soft blue illumination the whole, giving the
effect of Italian twilight
Mrs. Herman Oelrichs recently gave white
ball in her pretty Newport villa of white plaster
The invitations commanded the guests to wear
white. The effect startlingly beautiful, as
most of the women white wigs, and the
eighteenth century fashions were revived.
Not all selfishness.
r UT it is by no means true that Newport is given
up to selfish amusement There many char
liable fetes held in the grounds of the summer
colony, where prominent society may be
selling and butter from their OWE
dalres and dainty baskets of fruit and flowers,
and there are many charity concerts at the Casino.
Childrens parties are conspicuous feature OF
the Newport Everything is carefully ar.
ranged before hand, expert "amuse1' being
usually engaged to conduct the entertainment.
Unfortunately the children given so many
prizes that they grow to expect them at every
step, and come home SO loaded with gifts as to
suggest the wisdom of hiring a wagon to carry
their possessions.
On Bellevue every pleasant afternoon,
there is a magnificent display of vehicles of every
description, but there is of them approach
ing in splendor the extraordinary turnout OF q
millionaire, dead, ard whom ! will not name
out of respect for his democratic relatives.
1t consisted of low barouche drawn by four