The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1878-03-09
IcoNTINUED FROM FIRST FACE. !

waltzes. 1t seems as though the air was
full of flying Dutchmen and Dutchwomen.
Oh, how they swing around, heavy weight
tipping the scale anywhere from two hun.
dred and ninety five to a half a ton. When
two of the moving bodies struck together,
as they sometimes did. the effect was that
of Juvenile earthquake, and people be-
gan TO inquire if there was any danger of
the roof For once our German fellow
citizens gave themselves up to fun. The
house was theirs. They had paid for it;
they had invited their friends to have
good time, and they bad it. | am afraid to
tell you of the oceans of lager they de-
stroyed; but think speak within reason
able limits when tell you it would float
ship. And it was not until the faint rays
of Washington's birthday burst in upon
the jewellers that the assembly dissolved,
aud by seven o'clock, of the ten thousand
maskels who took part in the mad festival,
not a shadow remained.
The Martha Washington reception of St.
Johns Guild at the Academy of Music was
u diihSiShe hio 10 oIic VI tiioSc
universal charities which supplies want
not met by any other of our aid societies.
Jew or Gentle, Turk or Pagan, old or
young, it makes no difference it's hand is
ever open to the poor. The Rev. Alyah
Wiswell has managed its affairs acceptably
for number of years past. He under
stands human nature thoroughly and knows
that a man might beg for charity from door
to door aud starve; but if you want to get
money and the end justifes the means, as
it does in this case, you must cater to peo-
pies prejudices and vanities. The tickets
were five dollars and everybody was in
vlted. The list of managers was immense
and embraced at least three quarters of the
distinguished society of New York; not
only the elite Of our most fashionable cir
Giles were there, but capital, solid and sub
stantial, intrenched behind its money bags,
looked down benignantly on the giddy
throng and cast handfuls of yellow ducats
upon the waters which may return after
many days. St. John Guild is under the
patronage of the trustees of st. John 5
Episcopal Church, and the church could
not, with propriety, give ball; but there
would be no objection to a reception and if
Martha allowed dancing. of course it could
not be helped.
For weeks aud weeks society has been in
state of feverish excitement to know what
everybody was going to wear. Every mo-
81 "a, 1,
as she could possibly do, and our distin-
guished friend Worth, of Paris, was not
uurepresented, no less than nine dresses
from his magnificent establishment adding
to the splendor of the scene. By 8 O'Clock
Fourteenth street was all ablaze-cacium
lights transformed night to day, and even
the drilling rain seemed to have no per-
ceptible effect on the fashionable votarles
OF charity. The most splendid equipages
in town, with liveried footmen and drivers
lined the streets fer blocks; and defying
the storm, crowds thronged the avenues
adjacent to the Academy, anxious to get
sight of the gorgeous dresses which only
on occasions like this were ever intended
for the eyes of the profane. On the INSIDE
the scene was startling and the wonder of
the opening tableau was that there was so
little of Martha Washington and so much
OF everybody else. The gentlemen in swal-
low-taled coats and balloon pautaloous
could scarcely have been mistaken Tor
e1lisies OF our revolutionary SIZES, while
some of the fat dowagels whose MAJ veuus
trains amazed even the most devoted dis
cipes of fashion, looked as much unlike
our revolutionary mothers as they did like
sensible women. The fact is, it was a
fashionable carnival of taunting extrava.
gance. Satins. silks, veivets. laces and
diamonds We're there in abundance: vet il
was only here and there that they looked a.
If they really belonged to the wearer. One
gay young damsel of about fifty six wore a
pale yellow corded silk, trimmed with pur-
pie bows of silk velvet and garnished with
la e, the cost of which alone was over two
thousand dollars. The train was three
yards long, and as she majestically sailed
along, little fellows had to fly for their
lives, for fear of stepping on her dress.
looked at her with profound admiration
There was something substantial about
her-no ghost, no shadow, no fancy, but,
as sailor would say, three decker. The
floor shook beneath her ponderous weia ht.
Yet she had the air of girl of sixteen.
Her hair, which was once a blonde, was
gathered right up on the top of her head
in ., rid h.,
her mighty arms were bare, and bore
striking resemblance to a well fed hind
quarter of mutton; deep crimson rose
was Nesting on her capacious breast, and
in her right hand she carried bouquet
about as big as an ordinary cabbage Dia
moud solltaires hung from her ears, and if
you bad put her up at auction, she would
have been cheap at twenty thousand dol
lars.
One lady dressed in silk of the faintest
shade OF lavender occupied center box,
thanked Oh each side by daughter. Jen-
kips, who is deep in such tiers, informed
me IN confidence that the mothers weight
was 2S7, aud the infants at her side were
dress was Of the brightest of scarlet satin
trimmed with costly black lace: the lady
was tall with raven black hair and ewes.
and | heard one profane wretch inquire.
6 Where is our stick of sealing wax"
We measured the consequence and stand
ing of ladies by the elongation of their
trains, and taking that as the standard,
some of them We're of considerable conse
quence. The receipts could not have fallen
short of ten thousand dollars so thank
God, the poor may rejoice even at the folly
and extravaganza of the rich | saw the
wives of bankrupt merchants and ruined
capitalists there, blazing in diamonds and
silks, and wondered where the money all
came from.
Three attempts at incendiarism have
marked the week, TO get the insurance on
the property, one of them an old man of