Daily American organ. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1856, 1855-03-26
Hospitality at Wits End.

The reigning belle of the three last seasons
Mademoiselle de W, has recently assumed
the more dignifed and privileged title Of Madame
A mistake, at once funny and most easy to make
marred the enjoyment of the wedding festivities
The family had decided to invite twenty of their
most intimate friends to wedding dinner, and ia.
sued hundred and fifty invitations for ball, to
their general acquaintance.
The evening arrived. Towards seven o'clock the
dinner guests began to come. The first were Mon
sieur and Madame Nj. "Ah - said the host
to the hostess, 81 had forgotten that we had asked
Monster Nj and his wife to dinner. What
shall we dor" "We can crowd little" said the
hostess; "where twenty are cared for, twenty-five
can be served as we'll"
The bell rings again, and Madame o. and
her two daughters are announced.
"What! the O--s come to dinner? Are
they demented"
The bell rings--a8fonsier and Madame -
K-:"-again, Monster P and his three
SISTERS
The bell sounds necessarily in ten minutes thir-
ty-nine persons are assembled, and, by quarter
of seven, the drawing-room is graced by compa-
ny of eighty threeal there to eat the dinner pro-
vided for twenty
The host and hostess were utterly COMPOUNDED
the guests were received with restraint, and the
embarrassment became more visible and more pain
full every moment. Something must be done and
at length Monsieur V-spoke to his guests thus:
"Gentlemen and ladies'! my secretary has made
a mistake, and invited you here, while the invita-
ton should have been to the Freres Proucncaur
Ia restaurant our house being too small to enter
tain you. Ifyou will again order your carriages,
il is there that, that'-the bell rings again, and
interrupts the speech. Some notes OF refusal were
handed, but also more guests were announced
the most of these exceedingly surprised, but hon
ored by the invitation. They found themselves al
last one hundred and fortythree guests, assembled
in the saloon of the restaurateur Monsieur v
had forewarned him-so- soon as he understood
that this absurd blunder had been made--that his
guests for the dance had been invited to dine, and
his dinner guests TO the ball.
OF course the intimate friends were offended by
this STANCE GOODNESS on the part of Monsieur ",
and some resented it by not coming to the ball in
the evening thirteen came at ten O'Clock in the
evening, the invitation had designated, but find
ing no one to receive them, although a lighted
house, and learning that one hundred and forty
three guests we're being dined at the Freres Pro
Vencdur, they went away furiously cnraged
Poor Madame v YEARLY endcavored to rem
der agreeable the two hours delay of the dinner
TO guests who were furnished, and who were now
even more Discontinued than they were at first
overwhelmed with the honor they had thought to
receive. Her own good dinner, which was burned
to coal at home, haunted her imagination; and
the probable bill for thus feeding this crowd of per-
sons, whom she scarcely knew and for whom she
did not care fig, was even a more disagrceable
contingency to think of
The next day Monsieur and Madame v were
busy in writing notes 10 their frieLds to explain
this untoward blunder; but they found IL easier "a
appease the momentary vexation Of their friends
than to bear with the visits and civilties offered
by the dear one hundred and fifty who were anx
Gus to evince their grateful acceptance Of the al
vance made by the vs., In thus asking them sc
intimately.