The Portland daily press., 1876-01-06

would. in the matter of taste at least if not in
costliness, compare favorably with those of any
foreign service.
After these uniformed gentlemen had been
duly presented, and offered the compliments of
the season to Mr.. and Mrs. Grant, came the
Assistant Secretaries of the Departments, the
Solicitor General, Assistant Postmaster Gen.
eral, Assistant Attorney General, and the
heads of Bureaus. At about quarter of one,
the President, whose hand and arm had been
going like pump-handle without intermission
since eleven o'clock, began to look a little tired
and he had a few minutes rest, during which
he put on fresh pair of gloves. Then tho
"Veterans of the War of 1872" about twenty
five in number, were ushered in, and these
were followed by the Mexican Veterans o
1896 After them came delegation from the
Grand Army of the Republic, and then the
crowd.
In the 'good old times" refreshments were
furnished at the White House receptions, but
this custom was discontinued long ago. Now
the public simply files past the President,
shakes him by the hand, and then leaves the
mansion by way of the East Room. Everybody
is admitted, without regard to sex, age, color or
previous condition of servitude," and the AT.
rican element is always very largely represent
ed. Full dress is not at all requisite, and
velvet trains and rags are beautifully blended
together in this promiscuous crowd, among
which noticed nurses with babies in their
arms, comely NATIONS, decrepit old men and
women, and not few stylish representatives
OF the deni monde Each one claimed the priv
ilaOa nf q hop nj oil .u;3I Al
some were evidently disposed to prolong the
interview, but were forced onward by the
crowd behind. One little fellow of some ten
summers, his shoulders barely reaching to the
knee of the President, marched boldly up,
shook him by the hand and said loudly, ''How
do you do, Mr.. President; wish you Happy
Centennialp' For more than an hour this
stream Of humanity poured in one door and out
OF the other. and the Presidents right glove
very soon began to show symptoms of having
came in contact with perspiring, gloveless
hands. The large crowd made the rooms ex.
cessively hot and can fancy what relief it
must have been for Mr.. Grant to go up stairs,
pull of his gloves. wash his hands and put his
arm in sling, after it was all over!
The reception at the residences of the Cabi-
net Officers were very brilliant, but uncomfort-
ably crowded Many, after "doing'' the White
House, make the round of the Cabinet Officers
and presented themselves, although tota
strangers, for another hand-shake. This is a
ridiculous custom, but one that is very gener-
ally INDUCED in here, as the Cabinet, as well as
the President. is considered to be a sort pub.
lie property, to be stared at and hand-shook,
on this particular occasion, by everybody who
pleases. 1t is not every day that one can shake
hands with real live President, and people do
it on New Years, fear, not so much as a
mark of respect as because it affords them the
qualification of being able to say that they have
done iti
Receptions were very general throughout the
city, and Centennial Headaches were, L VEN
turs to say, also very general the following
morning. One of our young bloods told me,
late in the evening, that he had started with
the Presidents and made sixty-nine calls, and
would have made the seventieth, but for the
fact that he saw distinctly too door-knobs on
the last house when he knew there was only
one, which caused him to think that he mad
called enough and had better leave off.
And that (not the two door-knobs) reminds
me that had better leave off also, so odie,s for
the present. L. B.