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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 2, 1906)
43 .' '.- !? -! It! NEWPORT the word "villa" Is an 'other way of saying palace. , Bellevue 'avenue, from one end to the other. Is Jlnd with the most expensive homes in the world. These now are witnessing the very ultimate in costly gaiety, and along the) superb drive a never-ending line of carriages and automobiles tarry from pal ace to palace the millionaire seekers after pleasure. Nowhere In the new world Is the apo theosis of wealth so perfectly illustrated as at Newport. It Is a famous epigram of ia noted wit tha Newport gives itself upto expense regardless of pleasure. The long: stretch of 'villas" on the cliffs Is the retiring place of plutocracy, where wealthy New York can shift to Bummer surroundings secure from the in trusion of the lower five. Forty years ago the houses of those who summered in Newport were really cottages, 'but the social rivalries have transformed the architecture. To have one of these wonderful homes on the summit of that ocean-swept abode of aris tocracy Is almost to procure the open fefjtmo to the envied portals of society, hence there is little cause for wonder ment that one of the ' first acts of the neWly grown millionaire la to buy a tract of land, and turn loose the best architect he can buy with carte' blanche to exceed any structure on. the cliff. Always From Fine Models. In planning his home the plutocrat cm suits his whim as to archf tccture. If he has been in England and learned to ad mire some famous old structure there, he models his dwelling according to the style of Queen Elizabeth; another with French tendencies elaborate" on some chateau that recalls Azay, the Loire and Chenonceaux: a third builds a marble palace like Trianon, another imitates the exquisite Summer mansions of the Ro mans at Capua, and still another models his palace on purest Grecian lines of beauty. Perhaps the most famous of the many palaces in Newport are "The Breakers," "Ochre Court" and the "Marble Palace." The late .Cornelius Vanderbilt built the first named, and It is said that he put ab solutely no restriction on his architect, tha talented Richard Morris Hunt. Mr. Hunt, now dead, was allowed to carry out in detail the elaborate design he ooncelved. It grew beyond his original plans, for the army of servants necessary to conduct such a mansion during the Newport- season forced him to find mora room than he had first schemed for, and a house meant for two stories had to go tip -to four. "The Breakers" fronts on the ocean. It r- built of limestone, and each of . the four elevations ha its own distinctive charm. In one It is the entrance porch and driveway that appeals; In another the rounded projection of the drawing room continued as a bay In the second utory; in the third the double loggia till-ing-out at the center through two stories the recess between the projecting wings; ;a ;--S. :r-:,-:?.E ZW- Who Will Be Mrs. Roosevelt's S accessor Washington Society Is Much Concerned Over Who Will Be Next First Lady of the Land. W ASHINGTON. D. C, Aug. 27. (Special Correspondence.) A Cannon wave, greater an'd more beautiful to the friends of the Speaker of the House of Representa tives than a Marcel wave ever was to the feminine world, reached Washing ton on schedule time after "Uncle Joe" fired the gun that launched the six tieth Congressional campaign at his home In Danville. What its original friends could not do for the wave, the President did to help it along, and as none of its popularity was lost en route from Illinois to the capital. Can non stock is doing; well on the Washington-market. This, too, despite the noisy declarations of the few who are convinced that only Fairbanks stock is marketable in the South, and a few others who continue to bid mildly on the Taft and Shaw bonds. With each Presidential boomlet Is Its mate the booming of a chatelaine of the White House to succeed the present incumbent. The high social standard that Mrs. Roosevelt has set during- her entire regime in the exec utive mansion will be difficult for a less experienced hostess to maintain. For this reason Miss Helen .Cannon is perhaps first choice among the ladles tew ' r: Gcculpied by il$iaf!sj$$g ye 4 ? - ? on the front the lightness of effect made by the elaborate and massive lower open ings contrasted with the " simplicity of those above is the distinctive and attract ive feature. Inside "The .Breakers" carries sump tuousnes to a point to make the average onlooker hold his breath in amazement. The great hall, the wonderful dining room, the splendid billiard-room and white and gold drawing-room-are all mod els of lavish beauty, yet in every, case the genius of a great architect has al ways kept them within the limits of good taste. It has been truthfully said that the ef fect of all these wonderful homes suffers mentioned on the Republican side. of' the official fold. Mrs. Fairbanks, with her unusual experience as president general of the D. A. R., -and her-long service as an official hostess, . is con sidered a close second. . Mrs. Taft is not a good mixer,' and' would be more successful as a Su preme Court hostess-than In a position where the public would, have more or less claim upon her hospitality. All three are musical to a degree and the promotion of either one would insure the same strong patronagre to music that Mrs. Roosevelt has always ex tended. - The wives of possible Democratic candidates are not so well known here and therefore cannot be regarded at such close range. Mrs. William Jen nings Bryan Is, of course, remembered as a Congressional hostess and a fre quent visitor at the capital, but her horizon has broadened much since she was here, and now there is no one willing to venture an opinion concern ing the metes and bounds of her con ventionalism. Of Mrs. Hearst, society is even less sure than of Mrs.: Bryan, (hough the former has spent a part of the past two Vlnters in this. city, and for this reason should be better known by present-day hostesses. , Every one is willing; to concede that she has THE SUNDAY OREGONIAX. PORTLAND. SEPTEMBER 2, 1906- ft 3 7 .1' - - CTt J a; bit from their bunching-. Any one of them is elegant enough . to be the show place of a. shire. In making- the promen ade, It is a common experience time and again to' think the limit of beauty has been attained only to come suddenly upon another place - that quite - outshines its predecessors. , ' Many of these palaces have been made to grow overnight. Flowers, hedges, aisles of mighty trees come suddenly where only a few months ago was bar ren rock. On gateways alone is expended money enough to build the average busi ness man a fine home. With "The Breakers" Is always coupled "Ochre Point" as the masterpiece of youth and beauty on her side. It is equally certain that she is -"to the manor born." To .these ' advantages add the fact that she is -an 'American lady and the rest "savant sans dire." ! The question of who's who in na tive 'official circles Is not a far cry from proposed changes in the person nel of. the resident foreign colony, and mention of one is usually followed by discussion of the other. The , most conspicuous change on the tapis in the diplomatic corps is the reported trans fer of the dean. Baron Edmondo Mayor des Planches, Ambassador from Italy, who. It is said, will soon be accredited to the court of St. James. When the Baron joined his wife in Rome last autumn he was far from well, and it is possible that his physical condition, combined with her natural dislike to the sea voyage, is responsible for the sought-for change. At any rate, the transfer will be a promotion for the Ambassador and justifies the growing impression among diplomats here that the post at Washington is a stepping stone to higher places in the foreign services of their respective countries. - With the departure of the des Plan ches, the Austrian Ambassador be--comes dean of the diplomatic corps by virtue of his having, served longer, at this capital than any of his colleagues " jf . . ' ,1 " V iV: "5J '4' 7 i V T' of ambassadorial rank. In the event of . his transfer, the honor would fall upon the French Ambassador, and the social duties of the position would then devolve upon an American Mad ame Jusserand, his wife. .In former years, when there were not so many ambassadors here, a min ister plenipotentiary, whose term of service ante-dated that of an ambas sador, could become the social arbiter of the corps, and on one occasion the distinction went to the Minister from Haytl. The incongruity of the situa tion was too much for the proud diplo mats of Europe, who 'immediately put their heads together to devise a plan by which a similar state of affairs might in future be avoided. The pres ent arrangement is the result of their thought in the matter. The latest addition to the diplomatic corps is Mr. Krouspensky, of St. Peters burg, for whom the office of Counselor of Russian Embassy here was recently created by the Czar. . The importance of this, office can best be estimated by the fact that all other embassies have their counselors, and they are the picked men of the service, ranking .next to the Ambassadors- themselves. Mr. Kroupensky Is a young bachelor and is said to be fond of society. Scarcely will .he have made the rounds of the diplomatic corps before he will be called upon - to yield the place of "last arrival" to Senor Jose Haoas, the Salvadorean Minister to ; this : country. Senor Haoas, . who is. now in the City of Mexico on his. way here, is the first rep resentative of his country at our Capital for three years, for Salvador, like Ura- TV" 3 .'fl ' guay, has within the past few years rather held aloof from diplomatic rela tions with the United States. The Minister from Costa Rica has rer sided here without interruption, longer than any other representative of Latin America, and his children are more Northern than Southern in their man ners and customs. Senorita Maria Aug gusta, the eldest daughter, and de butante of last season, was educated en tirely in Washington, and save for her rich olive complexion and dark hair, which Indicate her Spanish ancestry, might easily be ' taken for the sister of her North American cousin. Owing to the illness of he.r mother. Senorita Calvo. after her debut, ; perslded over her fath er's legation, and won much distinction for her grace and dignity. , Miss Nilka de Smirnoff, the young Rus sian girl reported to be so harshly dealt with recently in St. Petersburg,. is sup posed to be the niece of Representative and Mrs. Wadsworth, - and a cousin of the Speaker of the New. York Assembly, Hon. James W. - Wadsworth, - Jr. Miss de Smirnoff went to visit -her father's relatives in Russia after: spending the Winter with her mother's family in this country, .and great, fears are felt for her safety. : Nothing definite will be known until the State Department com pletes the investigation It was requested to make when Miss de. Smirnoff's name was first used in the cable dispatches. She is a bright, talkative girl, and has many friends here, always joining the Russian Ambassador and .his family in their social affairs. She was also musi cal, and took an active part In the musl cales of her aunt, Mrs. Wadsworth. . News Is received here from the Mexican He j-cv- i -is- - .wti .i X ? I i t i V1 1 'fli 71 Hunt, the . best architect Newport has known, . and . the art mind that deter mined the form of its show. "The .Breakers" is. in a general way typical of the Renaissance, but "Ochre Point" Is a perfect sample of the French chateau. So determined was Robert Goe let not; to let the need of room carry the structure to such a size that It would lose all relation to the model, that he 'built a four-story annex for use of servants and the business office that has to be main tained In the palace of one of Newport's society kings. Several Notable-Structures. Like Vanderbilt, Mr. Goelet did not live long to enjoy his - wonderful home, but as the finest building owned by .the family it is now the center of many elab orate functions in which the statuesque beauty of young Mrs. Robert Ogden Goe let plays a prominent part. Mrs. Belmonts' residence, "Marble Pal ace," is severely classical in outline. It is built of white marble throughout, and at the main entrance are -three massive pillars going- all the - way to the roof that suggest the front of the White House, though they are far more elabor ate and costly. Leading to the entrance are two sweep ing driveways railed in superb white marble, and bordered' by the costliest Ambassador and Senora de Casasus, who are spending the Summer abroad. After a long visit in Paris, where they met Mrs. Leslie M. Shaw and the Misses Shaw, wife and daughters of the Secre tary of the Treasury, and Miss Wilson, daughter of the Secretary of Agriculture, they have gone to Switzerland, staying now at the Chateau Gulyau. Later they expect to visit Italy and Germany and return to Washington about October 1. Senor Casasus is an . important member of the Board of Governors for the Inter national Bureau of American Republics, and was at first appointed by his Gov ernment to represent it at the Pan Amer ican Conference now in session in Rio Janeiro, but ill health prevented his ac ceptance and 1 he accompanied his family abroad instead. Reports of his Improved condition are welcomed In official circles and with them comes the hope that the Mexican Embassy will be. as bright a social center in . the future as it has in the past. - . According to Information received from South America, the Jewels and presents Mr. and Mrs. Root will bring back from their trip to the Latin Republics will compare favorably with those showered upon Mrs. Nicholas Lopgworth on her rer cent European tour. For instance, the reception committee at Montevideo (capi tal of the smallest Republic they will visit), gave Mrs. . Root a necklace of pearls of eleven rows, and to Miss Root a strand of five rows, while the son of the Secretary was presented with a fine race horse. . - , The military . attache of the "Brazilian Embassy and Madame Paderneiras, with their , son Achilles, returned within the week - from their vacation trip abroad, flowers. If "Marble Palace" Is a bit more cold in outline than its two famous -rivals and a little less Summery, it has an imposing beauty all Its own. A palace at Newport which is always greatly admired is Beacon Rock. This Is the Summer Home of E. I. Morgan. He and Mrs. Morgan are greatly devoted to yachting, and- their place is one of the few along the cliffs that has a harbor. For a boat landing they have utilized a picturesque wreck. : , Beacon House hangs right over' the sea on a na'rrow neck of rock. To con nect his palace with the rest of New port, Mr. Morgan had to have' built a bridge, which spans R low stretch of road. . In the offing Is always to' be seen one of the Morgan yacht, sail or steam. Henry Clews, the financier, boasts a Newport residence worth the while, though It is a bit less ostentatious than those previously described. Its most dis tinctive feature Is the stone tower over the entrance. It Is surrounded, by the typical Newport porch, which sweeps the entire structure. Charles W. Lippet's residence, with Its turrets and walls, takes on the appear ance of a fortress of medieval times, and only the. addition of a few cannons would be necessary to make It look a place that could be held against an army of Invaders. Its hostile effect, Is added to by its comparative Isolation. "Rough Point," Fred W. Vanderbilt's residence, is one -of the most inviting of the many superb places along the cliff, from the fact that Its appearance is not so awe-inspiring as that of Its rivals. It Is built jof rough stone, with comfort able piazzas, and suggests Summer and vacations in every line. "The Elms." K. J. Berwind's residence, takes its name from the beautiful trees that overshadow It. It took Mr. Berwind 10 years to get all the land he wanted before he began building, and In this particular he is more fortunate than his fellow cottagers, for he has succeeded in surrounding his place with open space to give its line full effect." The villa is full half a mile from the bay. Tt is In the style of Louis XIV, and Is built of Indiana limestone. The clever arrangement makes the house look to be In the center of a va-t park, which to all appearances stretcher for miles. , The building stands on a terrace, and Its severity Is relieved by the Italian gar den which it frontsi So frequently are the handsome New port homes augmented by the buildin? of a new one that the old inhabitants scarcely refer to them, but if an original Newporter, who knew the town of Long fellow's poem should come back, he would believe that Alladin's fairy lamp has been at work. and are again at their home in this city, where they will remain until the for mer resumes his tour of inspection of the Important forts of "L'ncle Sam's Army. Madame Paderneiras who, by the way, is an exceedingly- handsome woman and great social favorite, will go with her husband to some of the Western and Southern forts, where she will be en tertained by the families of the officer? whom she met last season in Washing ton. GRACE PORTER HOPKINS. .. A British View of Lincoln. The republication in England of a book on Abraham Lincoln gives the Londor Spectator the opportunity to say thesi true and generous things: The memory of Abraham Lincoln is th common therltage of both branches of tha Anglo-Saxon race. The rugged figure, "-gentle, plain. Just and resolute," with frame ol adamant and heart of gold,, whose courage never failed and whose humor nothing- could dim, has cast 'his spell over the proud and stubborn people whom he broke in the field, and over a Nation with whom his sympathy was. to say the least, imperfect. The lit erature that has grown up around him ia of very varying quality, and his American panegyrists have an irritating knack of dwelling on those early episodes which to English notions might best be left in ob livion. On this side of the Atlantic he llvef as the hero of the Titanic struggle between North and South, as the man who freed th slave and preserved the Union, as the cap tain m-ho sank cold and dead upon the deck Just1 as his' ship was "anchored safe, and sound, It voyage closed and done."
