The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1870-03-21
Il DINNER 1T TIE WHITE HOUSE.
How State Dinner is Conducted un-
der President Grant.
A Washington letter to the Philadelphia

A Washington letter to the Philadelphia
Press says:
1t is the evening ofthe Presidents state
dinner. The guests are not only invited, but
expected to be punctual in their attendance at
o'clock, P. N. President and Mrs. Grant are
already in the Red Room awaiting the COM
pany. The ladies have. disrobed themselves
of outer wrappings, and. like graceful swans,
they sail slowly Into the presence. Mrs.
Grant Is in full evening dress-Jjew laces,
and all the ct ceteras to match. Her lady
and the gentlemen are expected to wear black
swallow-lail coats and white neck ties. :"
President Grant leads the way, with the
wife of the Oldest senator present on his arm
not the oldest senator in years, but the one
who has enjoyed the longest term of office.
The President is followed bv the other guests,
while Mrs. Grant, assisted by the husband Of
the woman who honors the President by her
exclusive attention, brings up the rear, and
after slight confusion the guests are comforta-
bly, seated. When no parson is present the
Divine blessing Is omitted, unless It be, the
Quaker thankfulness-t silence Of the
heart. In the beginning of the feast, fruits,
flowers and sweatmeats grace the table,
while bread and butter only give q Spartan
simplicity to the ''frst course, p which is COM
posed of a Freneh.vegetable soup, and accord
ing to those who have, tasted 1t, no sopp,. for
eign or domestic, has ever been known to
equal It, 1t is said to be q little smoother
than peacock's brains, but not quite so ex.
quisitely favored Us q dish Of nightingales'
tongues. .,.--...i....... ..,-,r..
The ambrosial soup is followed by o French
croquet of meat. Four admirably trained ser
wants remove the plates between each course,
These servants are clad In garments of FAULT
less cut which serve to heighten to the last
degree their sable compilations. White kid
gloves add the finishing touch to this part OF
the entertainment. The third 'tcOurse" of the
dinner is composed of beef, fianked on each
side by potatoes the size of walnut, with
plenty of mushrooms to keep them company.
The next course Is dainty In the extreme.
1t is made up entirely of the luscious legs OF
partrldges, and baptized by a French name
entirely beyond my comprehension. It will
be readily seen .thata full. description of the
twenty-nine courses would be altogether too
much, so we pass to the dessert, not emitting
to say that the meridian or noon Of the feast Is
marked by the guests being served bountifuliy
with frozen punch. AS a general rule, wine Is
served about every third course. Six wine
glasses of different Sizes, and a bouquet oi
| flowers, are placed before each guest at the
beginning. i.l2."
The dessert Is iuaugurated blythe destruction
of rice pudding, but not the kind which
prompted the little boy to run away to the
North Pole becausehis mother ''wolld have
rice pudding for dinner" lids not the same
dish which our Chinese brethren swallow with
the aid of chop-sticks, but 1t is such pudding
as would make our great grandmothers CLAP
their hands in Joy. This Presidential .disb
cannot be described except by the pen Of ge
MUS, therefore 1t can ohlybe added that nc
glebeian pies or other pastry are re- aloTed 'Ss;a Z
canned peaches, pears and ounces are served
4 Then follow confectionery, nuts, lce-cfeam
coffee and chocolate, and with these warm
soothing drinks, the Presidential entertain
ment comes to an end, the host and .hls guests
repair to the Red Room, and after fifteen min
utes spent In conversation, the actors In stat
dinner rapidly disappear. ,i;l'i: iiaG .eli;t