The Sun.
London, England, 1862-12-20 00:00:00

SOCIETY AT WASHINGTON.

The Washington correspondent of the Ledger
says that very few Foreigh Ministers were present
at the opening of Congress. The French and Eng-
lish Ministers were both absent. We see nothing
wonderful in this. Congress has become such a
contemptible body that even a minister from Liberia
or Hayti might afford to despise it. Foreign Minis-
ters have become so disgusted with the ignorance,
vu:garity, and buffoonery in official circles at
Washington that they have many of them re-
moved to New York, so that they may avoid the
necessity of making mere visits of courtesy to
the White House and to Cabinet officials. They
only encounter our President and Cabinet when they
are compelled to—when actual business requires
them to do so. By residing at New York they
escape the necessity of attending the state dinners
at the White Howse, and this, during the Adminis-
tration, must be a great relief to any well-bred man,
and our own people ought to be thankful that so
few foreign representatives are present on such oc-
sions to observe the disgraceful caricaturing of good
breeding and the ludicrous attempts at style and
gentility on the part of those who, for the present,
misrepresent the American people. The charge in
Washington society is remarked by all visitors to
that city. But few well-bred people, and but few,
ttvuccb pcopio, avo vlnw to he found there. In place
of such we now see lank, lantern-jawed New Eng-
landers, many of them of a poor, parson-like aspect,
in faded black, soiled linen, and once white chokers,
with bine cotton umbrellas and cheap oilcloth sat-
chels, half filled with crackers and cheese. These
gentlemen are chiefly applicants for chaplainships
in the army, They wear a very sanctimonious air,
rub their hands unctuously together (when they are
not engaged with the cotton umbrellas and the oil-
cloth satchels), roll up their eyes piously, and comb
their hair to the back of their ears. A set of meaner
bigots and more profound ignoramuses could not be
found on the face of the earth. Another large class
of people now in Washington are the contractors
and contract seekers—shoddyites and swindlers ge-
nerally, who are too well known to need descrip-
tion at our hands. Then we have Abolition emis-
saries and apostles of every variety, who are in
Washington to urge extreme emancipation measures
and to pick up whatever plunder they can. These
men are generally the friends and associates of the
Abolition members of Congress, and are of a eimi-
lar grade in the social, moral, and intellectual scale.
Add to these the correspondents of the Abolition
press, small pebbles, and such wretches as Forney,
who do the obsequious for their bread and butter,
and you have a tolerable idea of the chief elements
of Washington society at present, so far as the
male sex is concerned. The females present are of
course the wives and daughters of these, and of
coarse are their fit companions. The sharp-nosed,
Rharp.vo:ced
daughters of New England aro the
ruling p
spirits at present. They spell cow
and pronounce it and express wonder
in suehterms:tr"io
tell "Nboi
"
pay for this I want to know." Du
&c., and invariably ask their neighbours what
• they had to
,
of a sro.r
If, in the soviet that article of clothing.
y v
• of 000eur Minister and his lady,
e: a ask them the cost of
these ladies would,
each and' every article of
their dress; how much
dried apples and maple sugariu.e worth; where they
come from, and how much wagestheir