Cincinnati daily press. [volume] (Cincinnati [Ohio]) 1860-1862, 1861-03-27
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proper term-certainly the official term-is
reception" There is in these receptions an
amount of practical democracy, which, to a
radical, is quite pleasing. There is no alb
solute requirement as to dress, though gem
orally "full dress" is worn by the geztlemen,
while ladies appear clothed in that interme'
diate style between ordinary "evoning
dress" and full dress which prevails when
"few friends are '''met informally"
Say what one may about the propriety of
costume, a man feels more a man when in
the ordinary clothes of gentleman. 1t is
one of the nuisances of foreign travel, that
ifyou honor a sovereign by your presence,
you must deck yourself out In the gim-
crackeries which some pedantic tailor Of q
Lord Chamberlain has fixed upon as the
court dress. -....-.......,- .-....,
AT the Presidential Receptions you will
see army and navy officers in uniform, a
policeman, too, in bis or their uniform, and,
il you have courage to look into the dismal
hole wherein the band are crowded, the Ma
rine Band in their red coats. Otherwise the
gentlemen you meet will be dressed in black,
blue, brown or gray, as suits their means and
taste and sense Of propriety; and the ladies
will be modestly conspicuous in white, or
brilliant in colors. ..-a..
The custom and costume of the European
Courts make the pageant of the drawing
room more brilliant than that of the IRE.
ceptiop," but the plainness aud simplicity of
our Republican Court bring out more clearly
the principle that mon is of more value than
| rank, of which uniforms and decorations
are insignia.
Then at these receptions you meet every
| body; and when l say everybody, do not
| use the word in the fashionable, but the pop
ular sense. Men worth their hundreds of
thousands jostle against men whose pecuni,
ary assets are reckoned in but three columns
statesmen versed in the knowledge of the
past, and skilled to predict the future, are
crowded by men ignorant of the events oi
to-day, and careless of those of tomorrow
the author and the illiterate; the worker
with the brain, and the worker with the
| hands--all are here, mingling on the com.
mon level of citizens of the same country
A practical recognition this, of the truth
which underlies our theory of government
that tall men are created equal"
Then these receptions recognize another
fundamental truth of our political scheme
viz: that the officers of the Government are
the servants of the people for the receptions
are open to all. The President does not say
who shall cali upon him, but by the freedom
| OF bis reception says: 81 am the property oi
the public, and they have the right of access
to me-"
RETREECHMENT ALREADY.
, The ladies OF Washington say that at las
evenings levee there were any quantity O
cheap dresses; that they never saw so many
at a levee before Of all the signs of tht
times, this strikes me as one of the mos
hopeful. The Republican Party has been in
power here but two weeks, and already there
begins to be diminution of that un-demo
cratic display of "barbaric gold" which char
acteTized the levees of the Buchanan dynasty
AS tclerably close observer offemale beauty
l am prepared to say, and, if necessary, taxi
my "davy" thereto, that there were NOR,
pretty women at the levee last night than a
King and Howell was Prime Minister
Thanks to Republicanism, the dresses ar
cheaper, and the wearers are dedrer.
1t is not at the levees alone, that you will
notice the change that has taken place here
Washington, you know, is infested will
hacks and cabs, and the drivers thereof Ii,
in wait at the hOtel-doors for all who pas
by, shouting "Take you up to the Capitol
sir; +" "HeIe's your cab, sir for the Patent O
ee; = "OnIy twenty. five cents for the Smith
sonian." Well, under previous reigns, thes
men thIived and put money in their purse
But now their occupation, if not gone,
going. The Baltimore Sun-the meanes
) by-the-by, of all the Secession papers-a da
or two ago endeavored to fire the vehicula
heart by telling the hack drivers that tn
Southern men always rode, and paid libeI
| ~ H.. L. s,,n ol,. a,.auG -,
walked" The Republicans have accepted th
title and the implied duty of pedestrianisn
and have much mirth over them. The hacE
men, too, have their laugh at the chicken
though the cacchination sometimes has
rather mournful sound to it. -E
, Last evening there were a half dozen
: Cincinnatians returning from the leyee @
foot. When we reached Wizards, the Jehl
began their supphcations. One man, mol
pertinacious than his fellows, followed us
J the corner, praisipg his horses and his ca
and declaring he'd take US anywhere, fl
"only quarter apiece" till the Major,
E be rid Of him, said 1--WE were all Prairi
E chickens You should have seen the fe
? lows countenance, as he exclaimed, half
disappointment and half in fun; "Oh, hel
you amt on that lay, are your"
z Of course all these things are triiles. B
straws are good indicators of change
| Inc current. anu IubEe udS DeSA SuCu
change here as no one who has not SCI
q Washington in the days of Buchanan, CT
: imagine. The very fact that men walk no
: whereas they rode then, does it not she
that the drones who have had every tbil
done for them, are replaced by the worke
a who do every thing for themselVes?- T
e fact that pretty faces are more frequent, a
9 expensive dresses less so, does it not in(
cate that the body is beginning to be thoug
of more value than raiment? that esse
n tials are taking the place Of aceidents2
d HOW THEY DO AT A RECEPTION.
Here I've been moralizing over a rece
2, ton, and given you no description of
|. thing itself But it has been often describt
q and really there is very little to it after all
The White House, you are aware, stan
back some distance from the Avenue, and
! approached by wide semi. circular dri
3 and footway. Threading your way throu
- the carriages and pedestrians that cro'
these, you reach the portico, doubtless a We
d grand affair in its day, but now so uttel
)f eclipsed by the porticos of the Public Bull
It ings, that you do net stop to admire thu
pillars which the economists of thirty yei
ago denounced as so "useless and extraN
y CANT"
y The portico passed, you step into a lar
hall, a servant takes your coat and hat, {
posts them in pigeOn-hole and gives y
d a check. Your lady, if you have one, ste
? to the right, where is the ladies dressin
IL room, and returning presently, accepts yO
arm, and you move on, passing through 9
other large hall and an ante room, to