Evening star., 1909-07-11

strange whim Of the husband everything
that went into milady's museum, every
thing that went into the home, the house
itself-a magnificent palace In the most
golden part of the golden city-was put
in milady's name. This was because the
husbands wealth had come practically
from her or through her.
4 y
She was like princess or queen. She
held her court once week In this spien-
did hall of her museum. There the men
and women who were greatest In art. in
literature or in achievement gathered. An
invitation from milady was a cachet OF
respectability and standing. Her dinners
were intellectual as well as gastronomfc
delights. She was the most charming OF
hostesses. There was no home In New
York that seemed SO well balanced, so
harmonious. so perfect In every detail,
and there seemed to be no couple in all
the great city SO we'll mated and so per-
fectly in accord. OF the twenty-five SER
wants one had been with the family from
the day milady and her husband had been
married, fifty years before. and the latest
conner among the domestics had been at
least five years in milady's service.
They had a yacht and country house.
dressed magnificently. 1t seemed that,
aside from her art treasures. her greatest
devotion was to her clothes. She had
dresses in tints Of rose, dresses in shades
of lavender, Of every hue and texture
that would enhance her great beauty.
Her caskets Of jewels were full almost to
overffowing. Few women In all the spend
thrift city could equal her collection of
gems. Some were In quaintest settings,
in cunningly wrought marvels Of the gold
smiths art. She had gems to match the
various costumes that she wore Her
wardrobe represented fortune in itself
and would ravish the eyes of any woman.
But In closet near to those In which
hung her wonderful gowns was the skele-
ton OF milady's house. There was not one
skeleton. but forty. The forty skeletons
were canes; for milady had one great
sorrow. Milady was trifie lame, and all
her life. from the day when, few years
that had turned the whole current OF her
life, she had had to wear a cane. But
with her vanity no one except her hus-
band and few OF the servants who were
admitted into her chamber ever knew 1t.
With skill that was past understand
ing she concealed this little physical de-
feet. For every gown that she wore she
had a cane that matched it perfectly in
hue, and In every gown that she had
made there was a cleverly concealed slit
large enough to admit her hand. SO that
she could grasp the cane that was hidden
beneath her skirt. For more than two
score years she deceived the cleverest
eyes in New York. the eyes of the fash
ionable women whom she met day after
day Proud, austere and imperious. she
held her court. The amount Of dexterity
she had to display to keep up this decep-
ton, the amount Of money she had to ex-
pend in having these canes made and in
getting them of the exact shade that she
wished, were probably without parallel
in the life Of any woman in New York.
There was another sorrow to enter into
miladys life, and that came a few years
ago. Perhaps she grew old faster than
her husband, but at any rate they be-
came less and less devoted to each other
than they were In former days. II mi
lady noticed 1t, she was too proud to
show 1t, and month by month and year