The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1869-11-23
DINNERS AND BALLS.


CoussrninY tho Table nntl thc Ssncc.
An English paper Is discussing questions OF
social life, and observes ON the subject of din
ners:
Most OF us have travelled to an amazing cx-
tent beyond the simple and original limits OF
appetite and It's supply. Look ut the ''litllc
dinner" which Jones gives 10 the Browns and
the Snlths-all very worthy people, yet curl
ousy unconscious that a hundred countries
nre paying tribute to their respectable digcs-
tive organs. TO set the table, first CT all. has
taxed Russia and Ireland for linen, the Spice
Islands for the cruotstand, Africa Tor the
ivory-handlcd knives, Mexico for the plate and
Honduras for the "mallosany tree itself. The
vermicelli In the coup has travelled from Ma
pies, the oil for the fish from Tuscany; the
Baltic, likely enough, has forwarded The caviar;
and the Mediterranean, sartlincs tor The hofS
d'duUrcS. Then, not TO speak Of the native
grown commodities which will grace that CON-
Portable board--sllch rs mutton from Wales or
the Grampans, turkeys from Norfolk, grouse
from Scotland, and woodcOck from Cornwall
VIII the diners not have leo from American or
Norwegian winters, wine from vineyards OF tho
Garonnc and tho Rhone, sherry of Spain, and
iqueur Of the Russians or tile Frenchman's
making, with fruits from West Indian and Gre
clan Islands, sweetmeats of Paris, md coffee
gathered ut Costa Rlca, ut Mocha, or, as II may
be, CCylOn?
If the gentlemen, as is quite possible, smoke
word, and the Manila on the other si,le, fur
nlsh them with The fragrant lcaf-sliould the
tobaccOnist be only conscientious; and when
the ladies' take tea, China transmits over slN-
Teen thousand miles OF wafer way TO their
comcly lips the material for the stcauling in-
fusion.
Furthermore, the dresses which the com
pany Will wear. and their various ornaments,
open new chapter of geographical cnumer,-
tion. Sllkworms OF lIombardy and Japan,
looms OF Genoa and Lyons, cotton growers In
Egypt. Tennessee, Brazil Or Dharwar have
united to array them; their gloves used to
roam upon The savoy mountains; their feath-
ers fiew about the palm groves OF Sumatran
archipelasoesi their matrony cmboRpOint is
sustained by the bones of Arctic whales; Per-
Sian oyster beds have supplied their pearls;
and their chignons possibly once belonged TO
heads thousand miles away.
IL Is curious TO remark, In truth. that clvili-
zatlonEin the sense OF community of Gus
toms-ls at present mainly confined to dinners
and to dress. We cat together from ull tho
menus Of al the lands; and we array ourselves
IN order to ent, In one and the same lugubri--
ner has effected what commerce, treaties
travels and Christianity never could Compass:
for widely diverse In all other particulars The
EnGhshman, FrGnchman, American, German,
Italian, Spaniard-and, III fact, all decent Dcu-
Pic within the range Of European influence
put on one and the same vcstmcnt when they
Ego to dinner"
THE BALLROOM.
The same paper says:
A correspondent says that, in place OF dane |
F. ors, what ne sees nowadays in bathrooms is |
crowd Of over-dressed people, who 10 Little
else than tread tramplc md maui each others |
tollets about. Every now and then space is |
cleared as for fight; and few couples con
trive To execute certain spasmodic mancruyres
without grace or dignity. No duuht in such II
space q few couples may be occasionally be
seen Whlrllng abont-wallzing they call it-like
q set OF dancing deryishcs; hut the exhibition |
UnDlDnSn,r is,,.n ni,I,
pretty young girls are the performers This is |
the hrst point; there cannot be dancing where |
there Is not space.
II you would give ball, you must have a !
paN-room. All your devices of clearing away
furniture and rigging up little symbocal |
greenhonsS on the landing place OH the top of
sue urSI night oil stairs. are Idle and of no
avail. You have received one hundred aud
iorty guests where forty should have been your
limit. Unless you can perform the trick OF
pultlng gallon of water into a pint bottle,
you should give up the vain entleavor Of mack
Ing your unfortunate fellow creatures like her
rings In barrel. More tlan half Of the guests
may one dare to call them icilow-creatu;rs ?
are ladies' with elaborate trains; what pleas
ant time they must have OF ii. :1aspinr about
on the staircases and in the lobbfes: Without
space, and plenty OF space, we repeat, there
can be no dancing.
Under tie next head-that Of the dancers
themselves--it Is rather the fashion of tha
dIy that would seem to be at fault. WHY are
the bodies Of the dancers and the souls OF tho
SPECTATORS ulsqthc3d with gynnastic perform
snces, under the preteXt Of waltZ;ng and what
not An infilrlaed Zouave could SCARCELY
Keep up With the musicians in the mad hurly-
Durly OF their passionate performance. Surely
tnat Is not dancing nun has one adynn.
tage In bis middle age In this year of grace.
isos lie may have seen the Dance OF Four
danced Dy tile best duncers, save one who
ever trod the floor Of the opera. Who ever
saw Fannie Ellslcr Carlotta Grsi, Ccrito. or
Lucille Grahn romping Those ladies could
oance Had 1t been Otherwise what q rebnke
would nave been administered 10 them when
tne queen OF Dance, the royal Taglioni herself.
8loed upon the scene, and showed us how
graceful and exquisite was her art She would
as soon have thought Of boxing with a coal ,
aeaVer as of jumping and prancing rounI
room ON ailer the fashion of our modern dancers
, rue music, OF course, Is not a whit less asiruv
S man me dancing. Whether the musicians
tt hnve piiten the dancers, or the dancers have ,
uitsen tne musicians, is not for us to dcter-
ninei out quite certainly they have all pone
i,a, mna together: One word, before we have 1nmn
win this point, to ladies' who viii rive mnn.
htrous Oalls In small houses There must ha
cpUan cpUM t ior music as well as for dancing. Hisa
Sn Sluei treatment OF their guests to thrist half
1ozen or even four musicians into one of Their
Itlie Dack drawing-rooms, and bid them ho,v
aWay LOT their lives Nobody could snrnI n
pieasanG evening amid the din of a cotInn f,c-
.ory. There should be harmony and pronor-