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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 19, 1915)
Omaha Sunday Bee Magazine Page an or r . - Jll ,11, r 1 1 1 , . . . ,-' : 'V.-.- 1 ". US til fit v:--r';:' ; .. . ....... .. . r .. 1 r - . r " r : -.(I- f" - -: -, "lly ',sfc-. '. . '; V,'-. ' ,Ji ': "."" '..'..-iii ' t : J . '5r!:k.v v 4 r vis' r .A " Vf&j ADY DUFF-CORDON, d t-m "LciU- of L4. ax fotwrnf crMlor of fhiNM ia &f worU, write McK ww lh fKi trtkU for thi MwiMMr. Dmcntiiia all th k mwnI tmA hM k ttU far wll- LJt Duf -Gordo' Pari tttablUrtM! tftn( Ur im cIom bach wtJi iKtt ceatra of fttkioa. "A '.A li 1 S' 4. 'I By Lady Duff-Gordon ("LUCILE") . 'H1LB uttendtnx th exroi!Uon Klven at th ftlta tho other wek by tocietr formed of Trench models especially eent to Amer ica I wa creatly Impressed by the charm and newoese ct the coats and wraps, the fulness and 'form (ton In erery coat and the decoratlre ralne shown by the many uses to which they are pot The full skirts of to-day, of course, demand fuller coats to so with, them. The dresses, howerer, did not Impress me nearly so much. I was sur prised to find the waist line bundly look ing. Larce hips and full skirts must ot neoesslty call for small and lone irsist line Is contrast. I hare In my collection this4 year, for this very reason, quite- a number of three-piece gowns, which differ from the coaj and skirt three-piece of a season ago. In tact, with these, are mantle, clonks or wraps, with a complete after noon sown underneath. Instead of the usual little shopping three-piece. These garments are tor use In the afternoon for calls, restaurants. Winter weddings. There Is one which I hare In mind at the moment called "The Mild Surprise." It Is a tlghtrfltttnc velTet coat, with rery wide flare skirt. The nnderdress Is of 'ace, with the exception of a border at the hem ot the skirt, which shows be neath the coat The mild surprise is that when the outer garment Is removed. Instead ot finding the customary gar ment underneath one has a most delight ful gown for restaurant or dance. It la worn with velvet hat and transparent lace rim to match the lace ot the gar ment. Another of these three-piece cloaks I give a picture- of. It Is of arsy faille silk, the coat ef which Is wool, with big A Durable Coat of Band Colored Duvetyn sleeves and'a hood, all ot which are bound on both sides with a band of chin chilla fur. It has a double collar, one of fur, the other of faille, and Is tied In front by a succession of black and stiver gray bows. A tittle mutt matches the fur and the dress, andL is lined with lemon yellow. A more durable coat is shown In the smaller picture. It is ot eand colored duvetyn, with enormous box pleat, which begins under the arm and continues to the back ot the skirt. The collar and Of Green Ratine, Trimmed with Fox, Kid lined cuffs are enormous, and are made of white skunk. The third coat la made ot green ratine, with oxidised buttons, trimmed with. fox. and lined throughout with. kid. It ts pieced together la a de sign not unlike the crasy quilts of our grandmothers, but In two colors only namely, gray and black. '.'A Vhat Has Become of Belgium's Historic "Ghosts"? v. v'-.'h ' .1 -' - r .. . "..il2:-.:-.V . 4 v;yv; i ; -i "J ': A Three-Plece Cloak of Gray Faille Silk, wit. Sleeves and Hood Bound with Chinchilla, (-tacfls" Modtl) oitii, iao..kf su A remarkable article has appeared In the Occult Review Iawhlch Elliott ODonnell, famous In England for his ad Ventures In psychical research, raises some Interesting ques tions about the fate of Belgium's historic fghoats." Many of the chateau and othelr buildings which housed these phan toms have been destroyed by German shell i. Whst hss be come ot their ghostly occupantsT Mr. ODonnell does not answer the question, but goes on to tell some of the mere remarkable "phenomena." Belgium for Its size, writes Mr O'Donnell, can testify to having seen more homicides more deeds of cruelty end rapine than any ether country In Europe, and on that ac count It can point to many more haunttngs. Prior to the "war I waa engaged In collecting accounts of ghostly hsppenings on the Continent, and have now selected a few of these that have come from Belgium. As Bruges ap pears to be the moot haunted town In Belgium. I will refer to It first The moment one leaves the elean. well-lighted thorough fares ot the new part of Bruges, and enters the cobble-paved, narrow precincts of the older portion, there is a something in the atmosphsre. In the hush and solitude, that whispers in the ears of even the lesst imaginative among o. "All Is not ot the material, of the physical HERE." Some yesrs ago Mrs. Vertue. a friend of mine, whilst on a lengthy annual visit to the Continent, decided to spend a few days la the town, end striving there sbout the second weekln September the time of year. when spontaneous psychic phe aomsna are, In all probability, of most frequent occurrence-' put up at a small hotel, not far from Van Schellen's celebrsted old Dutch cafe. What happened during her stsy there csu ' best, perhsps, be related in her own words. "I felt." so she remarked In her first latter to me. written on September1 11. but not apparently posted till the 13th. "that there waa something queer about the place the moment I crossed the threshold. One may. of course, attribute the?aena tlon solsly to ths antiquity of ths place to the low ceilings, with their huge, ponderous cross-beams. "It became less noticeable, however, after I had been In the house for awhile, and I soon forgot all about it In the Interest generated by the novelty of my surroundings. My bed room overlooked the street. It was a long, low, rectangular room with dormer wtndowa, the walls were drsped with Imita tion tapestry of a very startHng design, the bed was a hugs four-poster. 1 never was afraid of 'being alone' at night, and In spite of ths strangeness of the room. 1 got Into bed quite unconcernedly snd fully prepared to sleep soundly until the morning. "I awoke wltn a start to hear a cuckoo clock lu the house strike one. The room was full of moonlight, snd every object ss clearly discernible as If it had been day. A feeling of In tense eibllaratlon seising me. I got up. sad going to the win dow, threw It wide open and leaned out. My eyes immediately encountered the gase of some one peering up at me from, immediately beneath the window sllL The face I looked Into wss long, narrow and swsrthy It had a pointed beard and a long moustache, very much bewaxed at the ends. The eyes wsre dark, and as they met mine they smiled sardonically. 1 have never seen such aa evil smile. I drew in my head sharply, and when I looked again the man had disappeared. I got back Into bed. but I could not sleep, and on seeing the proprietress of the hotel In the morning. I mentioned the inci dent to her. adding that I hoped there were plenty of police about. "TCou need have no alarm, madam.' she saldi the ox a Ovw MM Uaia Iwhk you ssw Is quite harmless merely a poor, half-witted feHov who occasionally wanders abroad at night' "She said this In the presence of one or two other guests, and 1 caught them exchanging glances. "That night I again got out ot bed, and on going to th window ssw the same figure. This time I endeavored to take a snapshot of it, but It disappeared the moment I got tha camera fixed on It, and I obtained no result "The following night I went to supper with some friends st the Hotel St. Antolne. and did Dot leave till close on one o'clock. A Mr. Kirk wood saw me home, and whilst We were walking along, I told him of my experience on the preceding nights. " It's about now that the queer man appears,' 1 observed, and my heart gave one or two thumps when, on turning a corner, we arrived within sight of the hotel. The moonlight wss Just as much In evidence as on the former occasions, but there wss no sign pf any figure. Mr. Klrkwood escorted me up to the door and was saying good-night when a hand suddenly 'gripped hold of my shoulder so sharply thst I gave a Utile cry of pain. " 'Whatever'a the matter!' Mr Klrkwood ejaculated, hope you're not 111?' " 'Who's that behind me?' I demsnded. "'Behind you?' Mr. Klrkwood repeated, la astonlshmsat 'Why, po one! What do you meant' " 'Nothing,' I said faintly. 'Only Just ' tor a moment fancied some one caught hold of me.' I then bade blm good night snd entered the hotel. "In the morning I looked at my shoulder. There wss a bruise, such a mark as wou'd have been caused by fingers. "I left the hotel at noon that day and put Up at a boarding house In the new part jf the town. On my telling one of the visitors where I had been stsylng, she exclaimed: "'Did you see tho ghootf "The ghost!' I cried, pretending to lsugh. Don't tsfl me the place Is haunted.' " 'Why, didn't you knowr she ssid. 'At the time of tha Spanish occupation of ths town, ons of the Spanish Inquisitors lived In the house, and bad dungeons excavated, where he condemned countless poor wretches to hideous tortures. Soma of these dunyeons are still In existence, and are used aa cellars for ths storage of anthracite, wood and other articles. They are generally reputed to be badly haunted haunted by many phenomena, but chiefly by the phantom of a very sinister-looking man supposed by some to be the Grand Inquisitor himself. This apparition is usually encountered on the steps leading to thejcellars. but has been seen stsndlng in the doorway of the house, and several people who have stsyed st the hotel declare they have felt him grip them by the shoulders, Just aa his material counterpart might have gripped the unfortunate, Flemish Protestants three hundred and twenty years ago. when be arrested them and hissed In their ears. "The Holy Mother has need ot you.'" "'And these stories sre really currentr I observed. "'Yes.' khe ssld. 'they sre known to every one In the town, nor have 1 heard them merely from strangers, for several of my friends have stayed at the hotel and have experienced one or other of the manifestations.' " Another case of haunting in Belgium comes from ths trenches st Mons. Two wounded soldiers assured me that during the battle they kept aeelng the figure or an old woman in a queer poke bonnet and bright blue skirt, who repeatedly got in their line of Are. ' ' "At first we thought she wss a Belgian farm woman." thsy ssid. "but when she continued to move about under a con stant hall of bullets, some of which must hsvs hit her, we realized she wss nothing human. We commented on her presence, and a sergeant who overheard us sxclalmsd. 'So you see her. too. keys? It's my old mother, who died twelve yesrs ego. in her eighty-second year. I believe she's om for me.' And be spoke the truth," my informants added, "for directly he had finished speaking a shrapnsl burst almost on the top of us. and literally blew him to pieces. We lay wound ed there for some hours, but the old woman did not appear Stein."