stal of dictator
of fashions by Mme. de Pourtales and Princess Pauline Metternich, both
of whom possessed a keen sense of the fitness of texture, color, and
cut, and with delicate hands could tone and modify till perfection was
reached. The former introduced M. Worth to Empress Eugenie, for whom,
and for the ladies of whose court, he designed state, dinner, and fancy
costumes.

That M. Worth possessed rare artistic taste aside from dressmaking is
evidenced in the beauty of his rural home at Suresnes on the Seine, seven
and a half miles from Paris. It is a superb work of harmony and is like
a charming mosaic, every piece fitting into every other piece. He was
his own architect, designer, upholsterer, and gardener. His villa lies
beneath Mt. Valerien, one of the finest sites near Paris, and the outlook
on the Seine, the Bois de Boulogne, and Paris, is a dream of beauty.

Hurriedly passing down the Rue de la Paix, the stately Column Vendome in
the vista, the Harris party entered M. Worth's establishment, to which
women, from actress to empress, make pilgrimages from the end of the
world.

What a medley of people were already assembled! English duchesses,
Russian princesses, Austrians, Spanish and Levantine aristocracy; wives
and daughters of American railroad kings, of oil magnates, and of coal
barons; brunette beauties from India, Japan, South America, and even
fair Australians, all unconsciously assuming an air of ecstasy as they
revelled in the fabric and fashion of dress; and stalking among them,
that presiding genius, M. Worth, who in his mitre-shaped cap of black
velvet, and half mantle or robe, strikingly resembled the great painter
Hogarth.

Mrs. Harris sent forward her letter of introduction from her husband's
New York banker, and soon she and her friends were ushered into the
presence of M. Worth himself. He seemed very gracious, asking about
several good friends of his in America, and added, "Americans are my best
clients, though we dispatch dresses to all parts of the world."

Gertrude inquired as to the origin of fashion. M. Worth answered
cautiously, "When new fabrics or designs of material are invented, some
require a severe style, and some are adapted for draperies, puffings,
etc., and then the stage has great influence over fashion."

May Ingram said, "Mr. Worth, how do you arrange designs?" He answered,
"All my models are first made in black and white muslin, and then copied
in the material and col