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Show j "THE INSIDE STORY" DOINGS OF THE -SMART f :: SET" IN NEW YORK J I Special to Tho Tribune. fEW YORK, Feb. 23. Dear Muriel J Now wo can draw a lone breath. -1 Gladys Vandcrbllt Is "out" at Inst 1 -all "out." This engrossing millionairess million-airess has been making an oozing debut during tho past several months. along It was announced by her motnei. ihfe widow ot tho lato Cornelius Vandcrbllt. Vandcr-bllt. that she wouldn't bo Presented until H of i bonsucfo. then wife of William K. Van- dorbolt, afterward divorced and now Mrs. Belmont, waa from tho outset nutt on oVtontftllon-tho antithesis of Gladys s km mother. Tho debut of Consuolo marked "no of momma's strides towards tho gaudy goal, and tho pccaalon was hardl ecllp-sed by tho wedding of tho Girl with Lord Marlborough. It occurred at Mar-bio Mar-bio bouse, Nowport. which ooks llko a world's fair palace, only mado of marplo Instead of plaster. Tho BronndD alongeldo MM the ocean wcro aglow with lights. Tho lawns wcro covered with Turkish rugs, on which woi-o llttlo tables, at wh eh an MMm al fresco supper was eorvod. But It was MM tho great portico of Marblo houso that mado tho principal spectacle. From Its very top, threo stories high, hung gold-embroidered gold-embroidered purplo velvet curtains, looped MMM to the masslvo stone columns with h golden ropes. And beneath this regal MM canopy, at tho head of tho broad stair- wav. stood Queen Alva Vandcrbllt. with tho" long and willowy Princess Consuelo at her side. Tho show started beforo that, though, j MM What may bo called the Btrcet parade, be- MMM fore tho ovenlng performance In tho tug MMM tent, was given In tho nftornoon. All MM Newport drives on Bellevuo avenue past Marble palaco at 5 o'clock. This tlmo wo MMMt saw a crowd of the curious poor peering MM through tho Iron gates at the festive prep- MM orations. And wc behold tho royal purplo MM and gold render tho sinking sun Inglorious MM by contrast. And then tho gates swung MMM wide apart and a victoria swept forth. MM In tho open chariot snt Alva, proudl MMM erect as o Cleopatra, Beside her slunk It- MMm tie Consuelo. It may strike you. Muriel. MMm as Impolite In me to say she slunk, and to MMM call her llttlo Is rather a comic way ot MM putting It-for she looks llko about four MM vords and a quarter of Duchess, really MMM But that day she seemed so retiring, so MM timid, and her peculiarly Japanese eyc- MM brows arched, her black hair brushed straight and glossy and her oval faco sal- low to yellowness. People who Imagined that any such dls-MMM dls-MMM play would bo mado this week by Mrs MMM Cornelius Vandcrbllt over Gladys simply MM don't know her. She is the grand damo MMM with tho traits of tho housewife, and I am Mm Inclined to think that the housewlfo dom - MwM nates the grand dame. I nm sure it MMM would but for the Influence of her friend, MMM Mrs. Goolct. But Mrs Vondcrbllt wasn t MMM led Into anv flummory at this llnal one ot MMM the functions which, during the winter. MMM have mado her daughter's debut a serial MMM storv. Tho two . together gave a ball in MMM December at which Gladys came out MMM almost, yet hardly, for sho sort o shied MMM back again. Indeed, her dlvulgence as a MMm smart set bollo has been a peep-boo, in- MMm and-out, now-you-see-mc-and-now-yovi- MMm don't gamo with us. This week's ball was MMm the culmination; and a flno affair It was 1 costlv but correct, swagger yet sober, and 1 without stunts or astonishments The onlv diversion unusual at a boll MMm was to wa'tch Gladys Vandcrbllt and Bob- hv Walton Goelct for signs of tho be-MMM be-MMM trothal which has been asserted and con- MMm tradlcted all season. Of courso nothing MMm ijvmptomatlc was detected, much less any- MMW thing decisive. I pay "of course, be- MMm causo It Is now moro than ever tho proper caper with engaged sweethearts to dls-MMu dls-MMu scmblo their love before folks In somo MM cases this trick Is overplayed, and an olY- MMm Jsh bluff gives tho whole deal away. But MMm Gladvs and Bobby do It well, and we won t l;now they aro to marry till an authorl-tlvc authorl-tlvc announcement Is made. 1 Tho youngest of the Vanderbllts now In 1 tho transition state from youth to man- 1 hood, William K.'s son. Harold, was un- dor the same kind of scrutiny that we tave to his consln Gladys. Harold's com-jvinlon com-jvinlon In misery or did she find It pleas-unt pleas-unt to bo an object of Interest? was Vlo-It-t Cruger, a girl who would bo called lovolv even If she were not rich and Fir.ar't. Harold Is at college In tho dl-orcement dl-orcement of his father and mother, ho went with mamma, now Mrs. Oliver 1L P Belmont, yet remains In tho good graces t of papa. Harold and Violet seem openly fond. So wo don't know how lo guess at Hj lltelr mutual status matrlmonicus, so to Fpeak. H Which ono of the Vanderbllts or Astors Is a kleptomaniac? No one, of course. H et hero Is what I saw. A modlshly H garbed woman came from tho steps of 1 one of the Vanderbllts' houses In Fifth H a venue, or ono of the Astors' I won't say H '"Which, but It whs o mansion, yes a very pilcce; and, mind you I don't say sho de-H de-H pccnded the steps, much less that she Hl emerged from the portal When sho came H Into my sight sho was crossing tho slde- walk to a brougham that stood at tho curb. It was a perfectly appointed cqul-page, cqul-page, with a restless pair of horses at tho pole, o bearskin enped coachman on the box. a similarly liveried footman at tho open door, and all of It Indisputably cor-H cor-H rect In style. The woman got In and H drove away. I saw her also when sho H alighted from tho carriage and entered a 1 famous department store. My next sight 1 of her was Inside tho shoppers' mart. H where sho stolo several articles, was caught at it by a fcmalo detective, turned over to an officer and taken out. My third view was when her carriage rolled H up to police headquarters. Into which she H was led a prisoner.. Finally, In a Police H court. I saw her arraigned, lined and es- H cortcd away by a relative B H Oh. my yes, Muriel I did sec all that; H but It to In moving pictures at a vau- H devllle theater, where a party of us wont H for that express purpose. Of courso, not H the faintest or remotest reflection or as- Hj porslon waa cast on tho Vanderbllts or the H Astors; and the Fifth avenue portion of H the ullont play had been placed In front of H n suitably grand houso for the sake of Hl dramatic effect solely. But the showmen H had used their camera with theatrical H rklll. Thero was no sham about nny of Hl the places represented. Pcdplo 'and traf- H flc wero active In all of them as on any H pleasant afternoon. Tho kleptomaniac's H cquipago was genuine, too, and she was Hl Imporsonatcd by a capable actress a Hl nervj- one. moreover, to carry the mock H thIor. exploit through the scenes of rcal- H Ism. Sho nnd the assisting players ac- 1 compllshed their job so well that tho 1 chance figures In tho pictures gave no H nlgns that they suspected the prearrange-ment. prearrange-ment. A second series of photographs H fhowed o poverty stricken wofrinn titcallilg H n loaf of bread from the doorway of a H bakery, to feed her starving children, her H arrest, conviction and sentence to Imprln- K onment; nnd this was done to Illustrate H the different treatment of a mere thief H nnd a kleptomaniac. But it happened In Eighth ovenuo, not Fifth, and so wc don't Hl Now, James Hazcn Hyde, will you be 1 good? There were echoes of "Caleb's" 1 (that's hs nickname, though I don't know 1 why). I say thero wcro echoes of "Ca- H leb's" French theatrical ball rolling about j us beforo tho life Insurance cloud swept i over our heads and burst. Folks who had 1 not been Invited mado cracks about the B nouvcau rlchc and the adventurous H artistes. I for ono had my own little echo, B nnd I have had It framed. An echo In a frame? Why, yes. It was my Invitation. H you sec In obout eight parts, all In a H fltrlng, nnd It looked llko a ticket from H here to Texas over half a dozon rallroiuls. H Or maybe I should say a trip from Paris H to th Riviera and back, as It was all In H French. Oh, my, yes James Hazcn H. Is H awfully French. Ho has given up En- H gllsh for other than business purposes as H too iobr for gay society. Tho brlgtest open-air sight I know of Is Hyde and Mrs. Gcorgo Gould when they drive together at Lake wood In tne maaocst cart l ve over seen. I'm sure Edith In o careless moment mo-ment lot "Caleb" choose It for her. It la In about five colors, and Is two-wheeled. m, it bobs like a rocking-horse with tho springhalt. Edith holds the ribbons and Jnmes Hazen H. alls beside her gesticulating gesticu-lating In French. He has a Parisian inakc-up. with his black hnlr pushed back In a wavy pompadour. like n girl's with a tr,Uf-1?,rnnib,- ,HI? 1,lack' speckly beard has ' " rr'ert ,0(-full nnd luxuriant in porno nlacoH n. n othorg-ivPll vnu lust wait a mlnuto for It. He accompanies his French -with giddy shrugs and Jerky gestures, ges-tures, for, all tho world like a busy Jump-Ingjack. Jump-Ingjack. Socially. Hydo maKcs for "artistic "artis-tic people." He Is strong on "men and women who do things" worth while. His set Is peculiarly Now Yorky and oddly mixed Mrs. Clarence Mnckay shines bright In tho Hydo set of millionaires. She smiles, llko him, encouragingly on tho artistic endeavors en-deavors of tho less wealthy. Sho Id tremendously tre-mendously rich, handsome, too, and In tho matter of drops daring to the limit. Mrs. Mnckay and Mrs. Georgo Gould who is, after all, of the Inner clrclo are the representative rep-resentative moneyed matrons. Mrs Gould, von "know, used to bo Edith King-don, King-don, a perfectly circumspect actress. Mrs. Patrick Campbell, still a stage celebrity. Is a literary-dramatic factor. She and Mrs. Macka are much alike In eccentricity eccen-tricity of dress During Mrs. Campbell's enforced retirement with a hurt ankle. Gabriel Rejanc to some extent usurped her place In the Hyde coterie. But Mrs. Edith Wharton Is Its real soclo-llterary muck-a-muck. I don't need to tell you that the author of "Tho Greater Inclination" Inclina-tion" and "Sanctuary" Is brilliant to the point of Renins She has that superb "In ternational" manner of the woman of tho world tho great world of courts and commoners, com-moners, of art and society, of bustling modern Now York and peaceful, ancient Florence. Mrs. Gould helped Mrs. Wharton Whar-ton socially by acting In her comedy of 'Tho Twilight of tho Gods." In tho famous fa-mous Georgian court lheatrlcalo at Lake-wood, Lake-wood, several years ago, and Mrs. Campbell Camp-bell helped her on the practical stage by producing her adaptation of "Tho Joy of Living." Mrs. Wharton was oorn Jones, and to r-omo wealth, too. She puts up a stiff hluff, though her house Ik small and too far to tho East Side to be really smart, fcho h;us llver'ed servants and n butler who looks llko nothing short of o grandee of Spain, or a mayor of London In full regalia. Mesdamcs Wharton, Gould, Mackay and Campbell make about tho most brilliant quartette of mingled brains, beoutv and savolr falre that Is visible In oil this town. Unless "Caleb ' Hydo Is cleverer than he looks, his place with reference ref-erence to these empresses Is In the admiring admir-ing throng which stands on the curb nnd cheers ns royalty passes by. A ."ocletv belle died Inst week, but the smart set took no notice, nor abated a Jot of its own gaiety. That wan hardly surprising, sur-prising, for sho was o bcllo of 1S12. Rochol itartonse wits 105 years old when sho closed her social career. Her family was of tho aristocracy In tho long ago, and until within o,year this maiden lady (no other term so well suggests this elegant creature of the, grand old mnnncr) hved In tho family mansion at Flalbush, out Brooklyn way. Tho Martcnscs don't flg-uro flg-uro In society nowadays. But only last month I went over to Miss Mortensc's birthday party. It was o quaint function, redolent with respect for obsolete form nnd coromony. The hostess did not appear sho was oven then too near tho end, though she did not rcallzo It. But sho was strangely, weirdly, mo3t memorably with us. The gue3ts entered tho drawing-room, drawing-room, looked Into tho face of o girl, of 17. and curtseyed, low to her. One could not do less Thorn before lis. smiling o reception, re-ception, was no spent old form, but a smoothly youthful maid gowned as she danced with Lafayette. So Rachel Mar-tense Mar-tense welcomed us In the portrait of herself her-self as she was In 1S12 crinolined and quaint, and framed In a flag with thirteen stars The sight made me think dreamily, and my curtsey waa Indeed respectful How strange It seemed to sco that form so fresh and fair with tho bloom of ninety years ago. whlln tho shriveled shapo lay In tho next room sinking Into eternal sleep. 'And how stranger still to think of tho woman dead In tho earth, "ashes to cshes, dust to dust," whllo tho laughing girl still smiles from among tho folds of tho flag of the thirteen stars.' What hopcB, what budding love, of that night sho danced with Lafayctto wcro unfulfilled, nnd what went to tho grave with her as unsatisfied longings"? 1 wonder, Muriel, I wonder. Saw tho funniest sign In tho Waldorf yesterday. It was In tho women'? dressing-room and read pretty much llko this; "Rev. Thls-or-that So-and-so. spiritual adviser, ad-viser, regardless of creed, ready to perform per-form any service, matrimonial or funereal." fu-nereal." Yes funereal, for one may drop dead anywhere but matrimonial? Is the Idea that the Waldorf supplies such a convenient con-venient as marrying men nnd women who hnppen to bo struck on ono another In Its restaurant? And Is It Intended as service for 'Its guests, or as a protection for the house? That reminds mo of the miner who 3truck gold, and kept on striking It. until he got so much that ho felt It Incumbent upon him to go on o spree. He traVfelea to'lv Denver In splendor, soiled Into thoItrownlw Palneo and demanded tho finest room lnl5 tho house. Tho clerk told him that thoU! bridal suite wo tho most luxurious. Homr said that was It for him. A bellhop showed him to tho room and asked If thero waaj7 anything elso ho wanted to order Tha.l miner looked at tho splendors of the.'! npnrlments a moment In silonco ili "Whoop!" ho broko out. "So this Is tha m, bridal sweet? Well. oend up tho bride!" iJkl As to the funereal point, my Aunt liar- fl? rlett, who Is fairly choking with old ill tchool manner and good advice, objects to II somo of the folk 1 train with. At first sho II merely mumbled-and1 rumbled and tn-um- ill bled. Then I got to automoblllnz with tho 'Hr "push," and that wa3 too much for tha to dear old soul. "It's bad enough to. know such frivolous persons," sho burst forth, "but to motor JL with them Is nctually flying In tho faco oflfj providence at ufty mlle3 n minute. YoulJ aro apt to be killed with them any tlme.lJK and then think of the scandal. It's reck-irft less enough to be alive with improper por-fK sons, but every woman should b carofulK whom sho Is dead with " '.IS Thnt will ho about all for this letter, vtf dear Muriel. Yours over. .M JA 1NNRL, jf |