Evening star., 1950-05-07
Town and
Country
By Nike Anderson

Most Of those perfect little
houses, in which every room is a
gem. exist only in the pages of
House Beautiful, but Mrs. Tillman
Leigh's little Georgetown dwelling
Is delightful exception. Engag-
Ing her own services (among the
best) as decorator, she came up
with an astonishing illusion of
country gardens and terraces. Her
dining room, for instance, has pale
blue walls with murals of trees
and birds, and the dining table Of
Pompeiian green wrought iron,
giving one the delightful feeling
of dining out of doors. In the
drawing room, only a sheet of
ceiling high glass separates the
pink begonias on the carpet from
the blue phlox on the flagstones.
The garden is triumph of mind
over money, for it is filled with
blue bells, dogwood and other
plants dug up in the woods. The
centerpiece. incidentally. was also
clever idea for using a few
short stemmed posies. as it repro
duced the floating flower gardens
of Mexico, with tiny blossom laden
boats on a blue mirror.
One of the most wonderful
things about Washington is the
variation on the theme of living,
brought to our shores from so
many lands. Bless the British for
their giant bath towels, which en-
velop one from toupee to toes: for
the hot brandy snaps which they
serve for dessert, and for two new
dances (Which are old in Scot
land. One is the eight sum. a
square dance for eight, and the
other. the popular and lively peel
the willow. which were introduced
to the Capital scene by Sir and
Lady Dalyrymple Hamilton.
The new portrait of Mrs. Clar-
ence Westbrook is a real breath
taker. 1t was painted by the IA
nous artist, Pat Medina, who has
done a galaxy of Hollywood stars.
His portrait of Greer Carson as
Mrs. Parkington, was used in the
Aim of the same name, and then
used again for her latest picture,
1.-The Forsythe Saga" probably an
indication that Hollywood means
what it says about economizing
Whether it is the cinema city's in
fluence or not, we don't know, but
the magnificent likeness of Mrs.
W. bears a strong resemblance to
q brunette Betty Cradle.
Here's another for the collection
of cocktail party capers: At a re-
cent White Russian party. pi-
quante- -insouciant Mrs. Ward
Simmons was sampling a deli
cacy called kouletch, a sweet
bread baked in a flower pot to
achieve a stove-pipe effect. A
dowager approached, eying the
unusual pastry, and Winifred
cheerfully volunteered the infor-
nation. It's kuelitch." Where
upon the lady graciously ac-
knowledged the introduction. by
answering. How do you do-Mrs.
Coolidge?"
Something for the Boys: Re-
member the exquisite Lenci dolls,
those fabulous creations of felt
that came from prewar Italy?
They were works of art which
have never been equaled. But
now Justine Reardon, a Gray Lady
Of the Red Cross, has brought a
felt craft equally fascinating to
the convalescent men of Bethesda
Naval Hospital. The craft which
she teaches takes the form Of
flowered bags. belts, toys and 50
forth, all made by hand of felt.
One of her most intriguing inven-
tions was a Christmas tree that
fitted over the bed post. where the
men could look at it comfortably.
A pretty widow living at the
Shoreham, she sometimes gets an
inspiration for a design which
will keep her working until the
small hours. but the results are
more than amazing.
Competent help being what it is
to obtain. Mr.. George Wright is
employing a dog named Lady to
assist him with his filling station.
Lady goes for the mail, watches
over the station at night, and
points" out anything which may
have happened during that time.
such as some one backing into a
gas pump. Lady, convivial crea-
ture which likes to drink coffee,
will remind her master that she
wants some by bringing him an
empty paper cup!
Mrs. Andrew Van ESQ is the
bearer of string of names that
would grace an archduchess. The
daughter of the celebrated Chi
cago surgeon. DR.. G. B. Murphy.
known as the stormy petrol of
surgery, she was to be chriStened
Celeste jeanette, but the bishop
confused her with another little
girl and gave her the name Marie
Veronica: so she began life with
five names. Twice widowed, she
then married Col. Andrew Van
ESQ, and achieved the grand to-
tai of nine names!