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Show Mysterij Clse of theCa ' y j' tressing to the i - XVVSmiJKN N al-:: ':r . - ( Fashionable John I pf (M Jw'X'przr I WHEN Mr. and Mrs. John Aspegren Aspe-gren set out to give a ball that should be the outstanding event f of the recent season at fashionable Newport New-port they succeeded beyond their fond-' fond-' est expectations. But what made this brilliant, hang-the-expense affair the most talked about function society has seen in many years was due to no intention in-tention on the part of the host and hostess, but to the scandalous actions I of several "Peeping Ton " I "Peeping Toms'"' Yes, among the rich and fashionable incn who accepted the Aspegrens' in- vitations and motored out to Aspen Hall on the night of the ball were some who were quite evidently as eager to steal a elimpse of forbidden charms as that famous "Peepinp Tom" of history the shameless man who peeked at Lady Godiva as 6he rode through the jtreets of Coventry, I clothed only in her long bair. And the way they sue- 1 ceeded in gratifying their ? unworthy curiosity the K ur.gentlcmanly brazennc. ft I with which they connived &, to gaze inside the tent J ! where beautiful Vera M Fokina and her assist- jft I ant dancers were dress- H : ing (or undressing I for ;x the performance uf a v Russian ballet nearly I ruined what had been in-I in-I tended to be the ball's grand climax, f All this was very dis-I dis-I tressing for Mr. and Mrs. I i Aspegren. Tl y are as ambitious as the y arc I wealthy, and had spared I i no pain , or expense to i make this ball r. glittering triumph that would establish estab-lish for all t i in e their . claims to a place well up on the social ladder. I It was sadly disappolnt-I disappolnt-I Ing for them to have this ball of theirs become mem-i mem-i f orable not becau.-e of the I lavish and delightful en-, en-, tertamment they provided l 'or their guests, but be- cause of a shocking yet ludicrous incident one , that savors more of the I burlesque stage than of a j fashionable society function. func-tion. There is precious little consolation for them in the fart- Iho tv,. jj i Below V L VvX .V J- ny dressing room Wealthy J V fXv "rU V WV- 'K -ZT sfc from PTyins Mrs. John T' V, . 'V s (Pr7 Ml? eyes outside Aspegren Om" - P 7 gfeJSy KvnK suddenly fell and her two I J I X i IW 4 down and the children ( 1 " 'JT mr. c-ounded VX M X' ' frightened H XVN4 d """' Vi-C half -clad, bat v rN J jbv m let ladies as U ' SVX? A they P.ed to t z fit ' cover" C "N covcr" ' VSsV-. Belov Ber.utifu! Vera Fokina, who wa3 in the dressing tent when the '. k s'e wa" co2P3cd and put her and the other dancers in a very embarrassing potiticn , ' "M I tni. uisiuro- g actions of the "Peeping Toms w; luite probably due to the stimulation J induced by the sparkling mors of eham-Pagno eham-Pagno and other beverages which flowed Jor their gue.ls. It u il: tak.- tl:.M,. v.ars M wipe out the unhappv memo- of the 81 ,,;t";catlori th,'y felt when the canvas l that separated the dancers' dressing M . frm PO'ing .-yes uut- ul.- : udden- V collapsed, and the air resounded with nJ fr,Khtened shrieks of the half-clad "li!1 lafli" as they fled to cover. Jnat it could have been an accident h severed a half dozen ropes simul-"neously simul-"neously and let fall the canvas behind f Qlcn the fair dancers were engaged in ; JrPations for which the conventions liinlv PriVaCy seems '"credible. The , rope8rea;0nabl "Pla..at.on is that the ' ants8 r n" ' Ut by u"scluPulous serv-whnn,aCu serv-whnn,aCu ff Uudf'r tht? instructions of f Thi tnU'r the eay male guests? I ftt tl . , y ra'"S support fr,,,,, ,hr that when Michel Fok.ne, alarmed laid tlc eI f 1,19 wife' Vera Fokin-' Fokin-' from v r Womo" dancers, rushed t ahlny gin a nearby terr:ico several hirt fr n,ld imnaculate white Uri po';;1:, Th,M -.v th, van. aosen h , !f'"r""r Toms" would liave nad they connived with tervanta i t to cut the tent rcpes and expose the dancers' dressing room to their view. When the Aspegrens put their heads together to formulate plans for the ball on which they reckoned so much for their social prestige they decided it would not be enough to have forty or so guests for dinner and then several hundred more to come later to dance. No, the evening's revelry must contain some feature that would make it distinctive and to outshine any other similar affair given at Newport in a long time. At last they decided that nothing could be more charming and also more impressive in its utter disregard of expense ex-pense than to have Michel Fokine and Veria Fokina and their troupe of assisting assist-ing dancers give a Russian ballet on one of the lawns that make such a pretty setting for the Aspegrens' Newport villa. This, they thought, would add a triumphant whizz-bang to the sky-rock-etty effect they wanted their ball to produce. Mr. Aspegren went to New York to negotiate personally with Fokine and Fokina. They rank among the greatest living exponents of the dancing art and ih. price they demanded for transporting transport-ing their artistic selves to Newport and dancing for half an hour would have staggered any less wealthy man. Rut what Mi. Aspegren paid them was only ' one of many lavish expenditures thut ran the total cost of the ball high into the thousands of dollars. A stage, fully equipped with the most modern electric elec-tric and calcium lighting effects, was built on t Inlaw In-law n. Comfortable orchestra chairs w e r o provioeu for the guests to loll in while they watched the dancing An orchestra recommended by Fokine was engaged to play for the ballet and still another was provided to furnish music In the ballroom. Electricians worked for weeks festooning fes-tooning the grounds with thousands of electric bulbs that twinkled with all the colors of the rainbow and mado tho place look like fairyland. New York's most exclusive caterer waB ordered to go the limit in the way of a supper The Aspegren butler was told to be prepared to uncork the best the cellars of Aspen Hall afforded, and if this Hood was not sufficient he was to call to his aid some of the numerous bootleggers who cater to millionairo thirsts. One of the final preparations was to set up on the lawn a tent to be used ns a dressing room for the dancers. The tent was divided into two dressing dress-ing rooms one for tho great Fokine himself and the other for beautiful Fokina and tho ballot girls who assist the Fokine - Fokina talents. It was equipped with dressing tables and all the other appurtenances which temperamental tempera-mental dancers find necessary in reducing reduc-ing their clothing to the scanty garb in which they appear on the. stage. hen the arr angemrrts were com- pleted Mr. and Mrs. Aspegren felt sure they were due for a social triumph greater than they had dared hope for in their most ambitious moments. Even the fact that Mrs. Williams P. Burden had rather unkindly planned n very modest sort of ball for the same night could not dampen their enthusiasm. A glance through their list of acceptances accept-ances showed that they had grabbed off a surprisingly creditable percentage of the mighty ones who might have preferred pre-ferred accepting the hospitality of Mrs. Rurden. The night of the ball proved a delightful de-lightful late summer evening. The dinner din-ner passed off as successfully as a formal form-al dinner should, and soon the forty-odd guests who had enjoyed the elaborate menu provided by their host and hostess were joined by several hundred more who had dined elsewhere and come only fur the dancing. The gay, fashionably dressed throng filled the flower-decked rooms of Aspen Hall and the fairyland outside with laughter and music nnd enthusiastic approbation ap-probation of tho good taste and generosity gener-osity of the Aspegrens' hospitality. And then, wjthin less than half an hour of the time set for the Fokine-Fokina Fokine-Fokina dancers to begin tin ir performance, perform-ance, Fate let loose the blow it had been holding over the heads of the ambitious Aspegrens. The pleasant hum of laughter and polite conversation and the orchestra's music were suddenly drowned out by the prolonged shrieks of frightened women. Murder? A fire? Some dreadful accident? acci-dent? The outcry was alarming enough to suggest any of these things Rut those who happened to be near the tent that was serving as a dressing room knew qujte a different cause for this shrieking. They stuw the canvas wall of the tent falling to the ground and, inside the room it had concealed from view, Vera Fokina and the other hulf- clad dancers fleeing in startled dismay-to dismay-to spots that offered more protection for their modesty. Frightened by the cries of his wife and her companions, Fokine came rushing rush-ing from the other side of the tent. When he saw what had happned and caught a fleeting glimpse of the "Peeping "Peep-ing Toms" hiding behind the shrubbery, where they could see every detail of this invasion of the dressing room's privacy, he exploded with indignation. indigna-tion. In sputtering Russian, French and a variety of other tongues he denounced the outrage and promised summary vengeance if he could lay hands on those responsible for it. While he raged servants and guests were hurrying to the aid of the stricken Fokina and her dancing girls. The sudden sud-den giving of their dressing room almost al-most the publicity of a busy Fifth Avenue corner had left them hysterical and fainting. Tho startled women were restored to equanimity long before Michel Fokinc's indignntion subsided. For a time he stoutly refused to go on with the ballet that was to crown tho evening's program, pro-gram, and it was only after considerable persuasion by Mr. and Mrs. Aspegren that he finally consented to do so. As a matter of fact it would have made little difference if tho ballet hadj been abandoned. Ry this time the sue-" cess of the ball was pretty well spoiled. Everybody was too busy discussing the possible identity of the "Peeping Toms" who had been responsible for the cutting cut-ting of the tent ropes to pay much attention at-tention to the dancing or the supper or any of the other costly elegances the Aspegrens had provided for their guests The incident has furnished society with one of the spiciest topics for gossip it has had in a long time. There are all sorts of guesses as to who the "Peeping Toms" really were, but hardly any two ' I Michael Fokine, who came to the rescue too late to catch the "Peeping Toms" of them agree, It would seem that New- jlj port's fashionable society includes a Mjjj great number of men who would not be fcjtjj above such a deed particularly a fter Hfl sampling so many cobwobbed boll'es Hn fiom the Aspen Hall cellars. Pj |
