The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1873-12-18
LIFE THE CAPITAL


From Lippincotts Magazine for DecemberJ
4 Washington season Is generic
thing women come TO the place for the
sake of it. as they go nowhere else.
Through the system of calling. official So
ciety is accessible to all, and the intro
auctions obtained there to people OF more
select circles, when fortified by wealth
and pertinacity, open the whole charmed
round of pleasure Society in other cities
is totally unlike society in Washington.
There it is an Interchange of kindliness
between households of friends II Is the
festiyity of happy anniversaries, the un-
ion of families in new ties, the cherish
ing of long acquaiutances. Blu. in Wash
iDgton, except SO far as the small num-
Der of residents is concerned, its whole
purpose and meaning are anomalous;
each administration brings new follow
ing, each Congress has a new rabble at
its heels; friendships are accidents of the
dav diplomacy is carried on by dining |
every party has political purpose, every |
civility double meaning. Nevertheless
the sparkle of wit, the kindling of enthu- |
siasm, are not absent from it on the |
contrary, there is more of that than else
where, for it is sustained by the chosen |
intellect and beauty of the continent. |
You may meet admlrals there who have
sailed round the world, generals who have
g. ho hn
be popes, men and woman who are figures
of the century; they will tell you of their
travel, the heartbeat of their successes,
and you will contrive to hear it for all the
accompanying roar and sweep in which
they are the lay figures for aspirants to
measure, and the property of reporters.
In such society, of course, all asperities
are softened this man daughter dances
with the son of his arch-enemy ; defer
enee is accorded to the opinion of wo-
man on public matters, as if she already
possessed her right OF suffrage there is
an exhilaration in meeting aud avoiding
and overlooking in the light and skilful
skating over dangerous surfaces, while
rare freedom untes with gentle even if
polite courtesy, which it is delightful to
meet to- night, and which allures you to
seek it tomorrow. Society without
conscience it is, possibly, but for all that
sufficiently fascinating.
1t is like an Aztec revel for its flowers
| a. ND Il
between the rooms that glow with light
and resound with the tones Of flute and
violin, are wound with shrubs where
art conceals everything but the branch
and blossom doors are arched with
palms and long banana leaves; flowers
swing from Intel and window and brack-
ct, stream from the pictures, crown the
statues; sprays fdropping vines wreathe
the chandeliers that shed the soft brilli-
anee Of wax lights around them man
tells are covered with moss tables are
bedded with violets tall vases overflow
with roses and helotropes with cold cam
elias and burning geraniums; the or
chestra is hidden with latticcd bloom and
bud and yellow acacias and scarlet pas
sionhowers and great white orchid
with honeyed breath encircles the fern
filled basin where fountain plays. The
murmur of music, the wealth of perfume,
make the atmosphere an enchsntment.
A crowd of gorgeous hues and tresses,
bare bosoms and blazing jewels, ascend
and descend the stairs here are women
the fame of whose beauty is world wide,
wearing lace whose intricate design, over
the pale simmer of some perfectly tinted
silk beneath, represents The labor OF q
life time, wearing neck aees and tiaras of
diamonds, where the great stones set in
a frosty floral splender seem to throb
with a spirit Of their own. There, of
Chief Justice here again the General of
all our armies; here fash the glittering
insignia Of soldiers, here the fantastic ar
ray Of diplomats down one vista the
dancers float through their mazes, down
another shines the crystal and gold and
silver of the tables, red with burgundy
and bordeaux, tempting with terrapn
and truffle, with spiced meats and salads,
pastries, confections and fruits; and close
by rs the punch room. You have your
choice of the frozen article, or of that
clarat concoction, to hold whose glowing
ruby bowl has been followed in the ice
| itself. Or of the champagne punch, where
to every litre Of the champagne litre OF
brandy, little of red rum. litre Of
| green tea are given, end where you see
flushed and fevered damsel dipping the
ladle and tossing off her forum as cooy
as though she had not had her three
wines at dinner that day. and had not,
in half he houses of her dozen morning
calls. slipped her sherry or set down her
little punch glass empty of its delicious
mixture of OLD spirits and fermentiDg
fruit juices. Perhaps that sight sets you
to thinking. You may have been at
! tracted earlier in the night by her toll
/ cite and her face, pure as pearl /; you
saw her late, warm from the dance, sat
ing and drinking in the supper room
| then her partne's arm was around her
waist. her head was on his shoulder, and
she was plunging into the German,
whirliug to maddeuing measures, present.
ly caught in new embrace, flying from
that mans arms to another's, growing
wild with the abandon of the figure, hair
flying, dress disordered, powder caked,
face burning, till, pausing a moment for
the champagne in servant hands. your
girl with face as pure as pearl seemed
nothing but bacchante.
HUMOR.
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