Martinsburg gazette. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1833-1855, 1847-01-28
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CARD yisrrs.--A Washington letter in The
New York Courier says
"There exists system of card calling al
Washington, which want 10 bring 10 the
notice Of the curious and place on record for
whomsoeyer may 5ye-and by turn hstrogtaph
er Of the social characteristics Of the are. Mr..
A. having come 10 town, and being by no
means small man in his own range, ami be
ing ambitious Of social distinctions, fills his
pocket Of morning, with FIVE or SIX shillings,
aud as many hundred cards. He strolls up to
the capitol, walks into the Supreme Court, and
struck with the malastc appearance OF us pc,
tentaies, he leaves his card for each in the
hands of the doorkeeper with his address an
nexed. AT the door Of the House he leaves a
card for the speaker calls out such as he ehoo-
SEES 10 know--makes flourish OF hands and
bat, is invited TO CALL and hands TO some partic-
ular intimate among them a bunch Of his cards
TO 60 to Messrs. So.and So, who are men Of
eminence. He repeats the same hing at the
door Of the Senate. He buys Washington Di-
rectory--fnds the address Of the ministers and
secretaries, and gives two or three boys shil-
ling each TO be carrier of his card TO each OF les
/ ensiaentes. In process of time, say ten DAYS
at the iarthest, Mr.. A. finds on his table the
card Of Mr. Speaker, the card Of DAN'L WEB
sTER, the card Of MIR. WALKER, the card OF
/ M. BopIsco, but the duce Of bit else does he
know of any one of them. The little black
/ boys are the ysiters de .facto, and little men
/ the vlsiters de .jure.
''When the cards grow old and crumpled, the
interchange may be renewed, aud Mr.. A. may,
on the strength of three or four worn out cards,
boast the acquaintance Of half the worthless IN
the town. ThIsinconvenience may sometimes
result, that MIR. A. may happen TO be inrodu-
ced 10 an old acquaintance OF the cards, and
submit TO the modification perhaps Of con-
temptuous treatment at the hands oia gentle
man who had again and again favored hlm
with black boy and card. ltwould be IN
terestlng TO an arhmetician 10 compute the
number of cards that change hands in day al
/ Washington.-Eor the ladies are not above
this ridiculous SOFT Of enquette--the gratlfica-
ton OF an absurd vanliy--and on fair day
stop their carriages before half the houses OF
the town, to send in pacquet OF cards. and
4 then drive on. This is making calls at Wash
ington. 1t is reported in some circles that
! that they sometimes get out and run in for a
moment, bat the fact is doubted. The only
actual day calls are those in the gallery of the
House, where the ladies receive the gratulato-
ry words of the gentlemen and practice then
little coquetues of speech between the gray
columns of marble, just as the Dome OF Milan
receive all such iayors in the richly hung box
es OF La Scala. Except that here, ladies can
not appropriate their own boxes, anC Major
Generals lady may find her velvet cloak crush
ed under the weight of soIae huge wife OF {
western member; and some pretty little Ian
one Of New England may be dily dallyine
with the tassels Of the curtains, and a buckiss
member Of your State, while at his elbow som,
awkward son of Tennessee is chewing tobac
Joke of one ofhis kinsmen."