New Britain herald., 1914-07-25
CHINESE BALL.

When the famous Bradley Martin ball was given in New York, society was astonished and it was feared that those who were not in society might be driven to lawlessness by the lavishness of the event amid so much poverty in the same city Thousands of dollars were expended for flowers alone and the newspapers walled over the extravaganza, but this great and wonderful exhibit of what wo- men can do when provided with am- pie funds was only a party when compared to the Chinese ball given H. P. Belmont in honor of her daugn- ter, the Duchess of Marlborough, who is in this country on a visit. The en- tertainment was the most gorgeous ever given at Newport and that sure ly is going some. In order to height en the illusion of Asia, Mrs. Belmont provided a flock of Chinese ducks and two pelicans for her gardens A wicked American rat! however, killed two of the ducks and one of the peli- cans strayed away to Martha's Vine yard and when found was crated up with the one that remained in the garden and both were sent to New York. Their absence, however, can hardly be said to have lessened the enthusiasm of the invited guests. Ed ward J. Farmer, represented Emper- or Kien-Ling, who died over a hum dred years ago and wore the most gor- geous of his royal rainent, consisting of a robe of imperial yellow emblaz- oned with the five-clawed dragons, insignia of the Chinese royalty, and upon his head he wore yellow bon net out of which protruded a mass yellow and his mustache dropped on either side of his mouth like a real Chinaman's.
 It was almost midnight when Mrs. Belmont and the duchess appeared in the drawing room. The description of her costume is thus given:
 "The hostess, representing the late Empress of China, was resplendent in a royal robe of exquisite beauty, which existing records show was registered in China three hundred satin, shading into rose and elabor- ately embroidered in shades of blue, green, yellow, pink and white. It consisted of a variety of panels cov- cred with embroidery depicting his- toric scenes. The royal dragon was conspicuous. The undergarment was of cloth of gold, superbly embroid- cred. The shoes were of the usual Chinese style, embroidered to match the robe and studded with pearls. The most striking feature of the costume was the headdress, taken from a col lection in London and sent to Mrs. Belmont especially for this occasion. It covered the head and forehead and was formed alm ost wholly of turquoise
 
 attraction of the evening, as it is one of those worn only by Chinese women of unusual distinction and almost never seen by the public Ropes of turquoise and diamonds and large brooches with pendants of sapphires completed the costume, the whole front of the tunic being a blaze of precious stones.
 The delicate beauty of the Duch- ess of Marlborough was enhanced by her dainty costume of black velvet and cloth of gold, in which she appeared as Lady Chang, consort of one of the greatest Emperors of the Ming dynasty. The costume, accord ing to the period, was in three pieces, tunic, skirt and trousers. The skirt was of black velvet and the tunic and trousers of cloth of gold. Both skirt and tunic were richly embroidered with the Imperial emblem, the drag gold trimmings and Chinese shoes of the same anateria Is. matched the costume. Gold earrings and black serpentine bracelets were her only or naments."
 Women walked through the gardens with staffs lighted with lanterns, giv- ing the impression of being fireflies The lawn was illuminated with Chin csc lanterns and floods of light from the windows of Marble House, the summer home of the .Belmonts. Some of Newport looked over the fence and