The Washington times., 1921-04-17
The Isles Of Love
) By Beatrice Crimshaw

strangest and most original room I
had ever seen.
It was all dead white and dead
black. White cemented floor, with
lines and corners of black tiles;
rugs Of black skins; chairs, table
and sideboard Of island ebony, in
plain. massive mission style; white
enamelled walls. Round the top of
the room. under the white wood
ceiling, ran the sole note of bril-
liant color--a ; narrow band Of
orange, edged with black.
There were two pictures. large
oil-paintings. framed in black and
set into the wall at each end. One
represented an Arctic scene-snow,
icebergs, polar bears. The other
was an extraordinary and Ito mel
alarming picture Of a graveyard in
deep night, each pale ghost seated
on its own tomb beside its marble
statue or broken column. The spirit
figures were drinking and pledging
one another with bows and lifting
up OF shadowy goblets.
It must have been a copy Of an
eighteenth century picture, for all
the ghosts wore the dress of Wat
teau's dayT-wigs that seemed made
OF mist and cloud; long coats and
spreading hoops, transparent as
steam. There were even the ghosts
OF patches on phantom cheeks, and
spectral fans that waved In no NOR
tai wind. Snow was on the ground
and an icy moon looked down.
I did not know what to think of
this "Memento Nori," over a din
ner-table. I shut the iouvres again.
locked the doors and went upstairs,
wondering what kind Of q house l
had come into.
There were other surprises wait
ing. The first room l entered was
a woman's.
The furniture here was much
more commonplace than In the rest
OF the house. but to my eyes much
pleasanter. There were pale blue
walls and mating, patterned with
white lilies; a white and blue dress
ing table with silver handles; an
immense triple cheval-glass U fed
from the ragged, untidy image 1t
gave back to mel; bright Alma
Tadema and Albert Moore repro
ductions. framed in silver-girls
afx rhIa md
flowers.
There was a delightful little bath
room, with a white bath supplied
from an overhead tank; a long
wardrobe, rich in hooks, drawers
and shelves. I noticed that the fur
niture was covered In pale blue
linen. lily-embroidered.
II like her." was my comment.
almost any woman would have
had silk In such a room-and that
would have spoiled 1t. How fond
she Is Of lilies!"
For all the toilet china and the
pretty dressing-table set were pat
termed with white lilies, and the
blue mating on the floor. and the
linen window-curtains-w with
out, blue within-were lily woven,
lily-embroidered. There was moth
ing very original, perhaps nothing
artistic about the room. but II de-
lighted me. 1t was the very soul
of a girl.
I began to grow curious about
this unknown woman. Ipeered and
pried shamelessly. She had left a
lot of shoes in the white, silver
hinged and handled shoe-cupboard.
and what shoes! Kid, satin. patent
leather, morocco, linen again.
"Oh!" l cried, laying greedy
hands on two pairs at once-a pair
Of suede, silver buckled, exquisite
blue-green In DIOR. and linen pair.
with Embroidered toes. 81 simply
must try these. But they'll be too
big" For I was proud Of my slen-
. der two, with the high arch and the
, dhlicate ankle, 50 difficult to fit.
"Oh!" said again, In a different
tone. "She has as small a foot as
have" felt almost disappointed.
sat there with the shoes In my
hand, wondering what she was like;
was she married or single; how
many people lived with her out
here; why they lived In such a
place; why one had never heard OF
them.
put back the shoes-the oldest
thing about them was that none OF
them seemed to have been worn
and peeped within the wardrobe
and the drawers. They contained
no clothes, but a number Of beauti-
full pieces of silk, crepe, embroid-
cred lawn and linen. pineapple
gauze from the Philippines, fiowery
stuffs from Canton.
"She took her clothes with her
when she went," / thought. Or
perhaps
The unworn shoes, the silent, un-
tenanted room seemed to take on a