Delaware tribune. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1867-1877, 1876-01-06

THE WAYS or SOCIETY AT THE NATIONAL CAPITAL
HOW VISITING CARDS ARE UsED-AND NOW THEY
SOMETIMES MysTIFY THE FAR wEsT MEMBER.
Ho..as,s.,.ia.,a4 "a IL. Cos.ss,...i.I L !

THE WAYS OF SOCIETY AT THE NATIONAL. CAPITAL
HOW VISITING CARDS AhE usED-AND VOW THEY
SOMETIMES MysrIFY THE FAR wEsT MEMBER
Correspondence Of the Commercial. '.N
WAsHNaroN. d. c., Dec 20.
Though "she season may be said to have CON-
menced with Thanksgiving Day, yet it does not
attain full vigor until Nav Years but from then
and until Ash " Tednesday it fourishes in all ts
glory. A most important part OF it is "calls."
The woman who moves In Society must make
calls to be called upon il she does not, she will
lind her parlors empty on reception days and
(what is to some far more importantly her name
out OF the newspapers. For the record OF re-
ceptions and social events, with mention OF
those present and complete description Of the
toilettes worn, forms AL important part OF local
journalism and ranks fully as high as, IL not
higher than, the record OF congressional evente.
Congress having adjourned till after the ho-
days aud the past week having been unusually
dull, with one exception OF Christmas day, your
correspondent will devote this letter to y brief
description or classification OF
"cALLs" AND cALtERs,"
hs they axist here in Washington. The former
may be divided into five distinct classes, and
those who make them into three The five kinds
of calls are congratulstory, OF coincidence, OF in-
vtatiop, official and pour prsndre congo. The
three classes Of callers are, those who call ~
friends, those who call az matter OF duty, ow-
ing to their official position, and those who call
because Others do and because they want to
show off," The latter class finds its reprcsen-
tatives chiefly amongst transient visitors to the
seat OF Government, who want to improve the
opportunity by seeing everything, from The dome
OF the Capitol to tho back kitchen OF the Secre-
tary OF State, and who could never leave the
capital for home in a contented state of mind
unles they carried with them tile proud recol-
lection that they had
SHAKEN HANDS WITH THE PgEsIDEsT,
criticised Mrs. Grants dress, and taken a glass
OF zine at the recepton OF como iuise, OF the
Supreme Court or member OF the Cabiner
As for the calls, the two hts5 classes (congrat'
ulstory and OF condolence) arc lndulged in a.
occasion demands. 1t is the thing for married
ladies', when calling by card, TO leave three spec
linens of the paateboard one bearing the callers
own name and two with that OF the husband
Tho former, which is for the hostess only, is left
in the drawing-rooni, but the two others, one oi
which is for the host aud the other for the hos
tess, are deposited in the card -baakeb that ia al
ways placed TO receive them in the reception
room, on the hall table. This fashion is god
send to the stationers and card engravers, who
are kept busy from Christmas until Lent sup
plying the enormous demand, and then, aftei
one or two sesSonH. retire rich
'.Otiicial" calls arc an institution peculiar Il
Washington and are purely formal.
CEREMONY DIRECTS THE WIVES
of Cabinet officers to call upon the wife of th'
fTe5ueuL NJ fNhleu petlbuss tie NHth Va ooi's
tors must call upon tho Cabinet ladies til,
wives of Members upon the wives OF Senators
and ON, through tue gradatiuis OF political ant
official life. have seen this csrried this to such
ncety, that the wife of a sl4C0 clerk would tnri
up her nose ut the idea OF calling first upon tn
wife OF a $1,000 clerk. while the latter woul
| with equal contempt scorn the idea OF tavoriui
| the helpmeet Of a Thousand dollar clerk viii
| her presence, before tue latter had made for
msl call on her This official and social ladder
| H., cI,,, tlr. IA
Jack but," reaches all the way from the de
| partment messenger with sixty dollars a mont
| to the White House, with fifty Thousand a yea
and no round is ever skipped over ~
INVITATION CALLS HAD LATELY BECOME
very fashionable. and it is considered the COZ
rect thing to invite your friends, not by cart
as formerly, but by an oral invitation, for tn
express purpose OF making which call
made. Il. s. v. p. cards are therefore gettin
ont of fashion, aud 1t ia perhaps we'll the
are for these initials have bothered the brain
OF many verdant Congressman. l remembt
having heard Of a case in point where men
ber from the Far West, after studying Ion
while upon those mysterious letters at the DO
tom OF an invitation he had received TO n gran
levee at the house OF n foreign Ambassador,
last came to the conclusion that they must stsI
for Red Stockings, Velpet Pants, (he card ha
ing the words Full dress inscribed just opp
site to those initials, and consequently appeart
| in such a costume, much to the d.ss ust OF
colleagues who thought he had suddenly becon
. fit subject for lunatic asylum.
Cards p. u, A. (pour dire adiou) or p p.
(pour prendre cungD are scattered profuse
during tho latter part of the season. and in ear
Spring, when preparation are made for the Sur
mer exodus to tho watering places and Europ
Both forms OF initial are equally popular a,
fashionable. U
So much for tho card etiquette, which pla
such an important part in the ceremony OF societ
and which, ridiculous As it is when carried TO 9
cess, has many good points when thoughtful
exercised. The "peddling Of cards" by d
bushelful ia one thing. and their proper II
quite another thing. The former is an abou
nation and an outgrowth of shoddyism the !,
ter delicste privilege and great convenient
DELTA,